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MASONRY, 

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE: 



PROVED BT 



TRADITION, 

HISTORY AND REVELATION, 



INCLUDING 



Two Hundred and Sevejjty-Five Evidences. 



THAT 



MASONRY AM RELIGION ARE THE 8ASE. 



BY KEY. F. H. JOHNSON, 



MISSIONARY FIFTEEN TEARS, CHAPLAIN OF NIAGARA CHAPTER, NO. 200, 

NIAGARA FALLS, NEW TORK, AND LATE DEPUTY GRAND 

MASTER OF THE TWENTY-FIRST MASONIC 

DISTRICT. 



BUFFAL O 



1871. 

L 




Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, A 

By F. H. JOHNSON, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, 
for the Northern District of New York. 



FREEMASONRY.. 



CHAPTER I. 

Age of Masonry— Its Moral Power will Live forever— Not Modeled after False Re. 
ligion— What the Pope has said — Assailed by the Fires of Persecution— Our Fore- 
fathers Guided by the True Light— What is Symbolism — The Symbols of the 
Deity— Age of— by Faith in God— Can Climb our Way up to Heaven— We Deal 
not in Fancy but in Sober Realities— God's Religion what— our Business to In- 
vestigate — The Sun a Masonic Symbol — Refers to what — First Apppearance of 
Light— It never "Varies, except in Degree — The Visible presence of the Shekinah 
often seen — an Emblem of the Soul— of Life — Bro. Mackey's Opinion — Light an 
Emblem of Intelligence — If no Sun, Moon or Stars in the Heavens, what: 

Masonry is the oldest institution in the world, with a 
fame of more than forty centuries upon its brow ; invari- 
ably referring to the mysteries of the past, the present, 
and the unknown future ; wielding a moral power in all 
ages, perfectly irresistable, and is destined to stand for- 
ever. 

This is no fancied sketch of ours, to amuse the ignorant 
or to excite the attention of the thoughtless, bat are sober 
realities, and will continue if the Holy Bible, on which 
it rests, is true, until the great drama of human life is 
wound up, and the last shock of time overthrow the 
universe. 

This, to an unprejudiced mind, would be sufficient to 
establish the fact, that Masonry is of a Divine Origin. 

We take not our model of worship from false religions 
that have torn the Church with schisms, and contend- 
ing factions, deluged the world with blood for religious 
rule, or political power, throwing their darkening shades 
over every thing Holy and Divine, shutting out the bright 
prospects of the great future from our view, unless we 
are modeled after the rules they have prescribed. This 
would be descending to the level of Sectarianism, and 



6 MASONRY, PAST, 

our work more resemble the confusion of Babel, than a 
Temple erected to God and dedicated to His Holy Name. 

The Pope has said, beyond the pale of his Church 
there is no salvation ; but with such unholy edicts, though 
issuing from the throne of Ecclesiastical power, we have 
nothing to do — they pass us as the idle breeze we heed 
not. We are not bounded by sectional or geographical 
lines : our faith and emblems are world-wide, and the 
compass of the Craft, in its sublime and holy teachings, 
sweeps the universe. 

"We are everywhere taught, by ceremonies the most 
impressive, the existence of God, the creation of the 
world, the fall of man, the death of the body, and the 
immortality of the Soul ; and any system that does not 
include these elements of faith is spurious, vain and de- 
ceptive. The Divine Being we denominate in our work 
as the Supreme Architect ot the Universe, is clothed with 
Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Omnipresence : not a 
sparrow falls without his notice, is acquainted with the 
inmost recesses of the human heart, and will award us 
according to our works. If this is untrue, then there is 
no religion in our world, as far as we know ; and the 
Holy Bible has never informed us what true worship is. 

For our efforts to spread abroad light, life, and salva- 
tion among the nations of the earth, and worship the 
God of our fathers, in spirit and in truth, according to 
the best light we have, we have been assailed by the 
fires of persecution. Emperors, Kings, and Popes, have 
combined all their energies, and lent their mightiest 
powers, to subvert and annihilate Masonry, with a malig- 
nity unparalleled in the history of the world. No human 
institution has ever passed through such an ordeal and 
lived; but this only proves how feeble and ineffectual 
are the efforts of man to destroy where God intends to 
save. 

Our forefathers, guided by the true light, grappled with 
the world, determined to conquer its evils or perish be- 
neath its ruins. They traveled steadily down the stream 
of time; smiled serenely at the storms of kingly wrath, 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 7 

that swept over the earth and howled along the sky — 
remained unmoved amid the convulsion of the world. 
Where kingdoms have been overthrown, whole nations 
gone down in a day, and every human institution that 
existed when Masonry began her triumphant march in 
the world has perished. 

And does not this prove, and irresistably establish the 
the fact, that our religion is from God, that we have been 
watched over by an eye that never slumbers, and pro- 
tected by an arm that never trembles, from the general 
wreck and ruin of the world ? If God be for us, who 
can be against us? The language we use to impress 
upon the minds of our votaries moral and religious 
truths is principally in Emblems and symbols. 

WHAT IS SYMBOLISM? 

If is an embodiment of all that is great, grand and 
glorious in the universe ; and, to a Mason, more mighty, 
impressive and profound, than any language known in our 
world. It unfolds to our view the plans and designs of 
the Supreme Architect, the immutable laws by which all 
things are governed, and the worship due to His great 
and holy name. 

The Symbols of the Deity spread out in glowing letters 
of light for His creatures to look at, recorded in the Holy 
Bible, referred to by the Fraternity, for scientific, moral 
and religious purposes, did not originate in our world. 

Ages on ages might have rolled away before the earth 
was brought into order or fitted up for the abode of man, 
yet the leading elements of our faith existed in all their 
grandeur and glory. "Who can penetrate beyond the 
bounds of the universe, and fix limits to creative power, 
and say, here is a point where darkness and nonentity 
reigns, and where no God is ? If there ever was a period 
when the Deity remained alone, no exhibitions of crea- 
tive power and goodness, no intelligent beings to hymn 
His praise, then Symbolism, or the religion of Masonry, 
did not exist. But what imagination is sufficiently lofty 
in its flights, what eye keen enough to look across the 



8 MASONRY, PAST, 

millions of worlds that roll through vast expanse, and 
yet the beginning of Symbolism is as remote and indefi- 
nite as ever. Who can soar away to the heights of anti- 
quity, which has positively no summits that we can com- 
prehend ? We are dazzled by this altitude, and lost amid 
those far off, and long withdrawing recesses of that pri- 
meval distance that merges away into a fathomless un- 
known. This, Brethren, is an exercise overwhelming 
to the soul, and discomfiting to our puny faculties ; but 
by the Emblems, and Symbols of the Order, we are called 
on to stir ourselves up, that we may take hold on God ; 
but the vastness, and the magnitude of the thought, 
would seem to repel the effort as hopeless, and we are 
lost amid the bewildering obscurity that surrounds us ; 
but, Brethren, by faith in God, hope in immortality, and 
Charity to all mankind, we can climb our ascending way 
up to the Throne of the Eternal, where there is fullness 
of joy and pleasures forevermore. Yet we feel ourselves 
overborne by a sense of our weakness, and at every step 
the same mysteries of the Divine Being appear alike im- 
penetrable and impervious. How infinitely do we sink 
away into an atom, amid that unoccupied and unpeopled 
vastness by which we are surrounded But we are con- 
tent to trace the Symbols of the Order no further than 
our senses can accompany us ; we are satisfied to gaze 
upon the sun and systems that the telescope has unfolded 
to our view, which we know to be peopled with realities. 
Here we contemplate the Supreme Architect of the Uni- 
verse enthroned in light and glory, reigning supreme and 
uncontrolled over millions of worlds besides our own. 
If this earth is a mere atom, amid the vastness of creative 
power, what an emphasis is impressed upon the mind of 
the Fraternity by Symbolism, lol these are parts of his 
ways, but the thunder of his power who can understand? 
The Holy Bible, and the revelations of Astronomy in our 
clay, correspond exactly with Masonry or Symbolism be- 
fore the world was, but both alike seem to distance man, 
from the Infinite and Holy One. The Fraternity, how- 
ever, deals not in flights of fancy, but in sober realities ; 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 9 

she wades not out into those dark and troubled waters' 
where the tempest howls and no bottom is ; she travels 
not into those unknown regions of illimitable space, en- 
deavoring to penetrate beyond the bounds of the uni- 
verse, and fix limits to creative power ; but is content to 
use the emblems handed down to us by our forefathers, 
and silently work on in filling her great mission of Peace 
on earth and good will to men. And is not this God's re- 
ligion enstamped upon the hearts of universal humanity, 
believed in, adhered to. taken up, and re-echoed by the 
Fraternity over the world ? Did the Prophets, the Sa- 
viour, the Apostles, or the Holy Bible, ever teach any- 
thing else? If they did not, then we are right in claim- 
ing that Masonry is of God. Though the object contem- 
plated by Symbolism may be remote and inaccessible, 
yet it is our business to investigate, and the high pur- 
poses of our being to ascertain, for it is distinguished 
from all other knowledge by the peculiar avenue it is 
conveyed to us — the design appears to be, to impress upon 
the mind moral and religious truths, that intelligent be- 
ings might take in more at a glance than they could learn 
from the history of ages, or from any other source. 

The Omniscient and Omnipresent God, represented by 
the All Seeing Eye, in our Lodges, infixes, as with the 
point of a diamond, a lesson upon science, morals and 
religion, that never can be effaced while memory holds a 
lodgement in the soul. The same deeply interesting and 
overwhelming truth, the same mysterious relations, even 
the very words dictated by the Almighty himself, unre- 
corded on the pages of the world's history, have been re- 
tained, and taught with great moral power, in all degrees 
pertaining to the Order. No other institution in the 
world possesses this knowledge, or has the facility of im- 
parting instruction upon man's duty here, and his destiny 
hereafter, to the same extent. 

IS THE SUN, SAID TO BE A BODY OF FIRE, A MILLION OF TIMES 
GREATER THAN OUR WORLD, A MASONIC SYMBOL ? 

It is, and understood by the Fraternity as one of the 



10 MASONRY, PAST, 

most striking emblems of the Deity, darkened and be- 
wildered as our intellects are. We are taught to look 
steadily at the great light of the world, and the volume 
of inspiration, that will illumine our pathway here, and 
prepare us for a higher enjoyment hereafter, in that 
world of glorified spirits, the grand Lodge above, where 
the anthems of praise will forever roll, the Lord God 
Omnipotent reigneth. What human thought can con- 
ceive of a religion more sublime, glorious and God-like 
than this ? 

TO WHAT DOES THIS SYMBOL KEFEB ? 

To the> order, harmony and government of the world, 
the leading element of our faith ; and sheds its hallowed 
beams upon our pathway here, and points steadily to the 
period when our labors in this Earthly Lodge shall close; 
and from it we learn that the light of God's countenance 
will increase in bright effulgence, through the boundless 
realms of eternity, as we go up higher and higher, to 
the very summit of perfection, and look down upon the 
conflicting world below, with a calmness and tranquility 
unsurpassed, and unknown any where else. And is not 
this God's religion, enstamped upon the hearts of all in- 
telligent beings, whether on earth or in heaven ? 

WHEN DID THE LIGHT OF GOD's COUNTENANCE- FIRST 
APPEAR ? 

Before the world was ; but the intelligent Mason un- 
derstands distinctly, that referred to in Gen. 1st and 3d, 
was not the light of the sun, moon or stars, for they were 
not yet created, or at least were still in darkness, and 
were not made until the fourth day. Geologists say it 
was more than four thousand years after this period. It 
must have been the bright effulgence of the Deity that 
flashed out upon the darkness and void, at the sight of 
which the morning stars sang together, and all the sons 
of God shouted for joy. It was designed to represent 
the Omnipotent energies of creative power. The Chris- 



PRESENT AND FUTUEE. 11 

tian world, and the Fraternity, view this subject alike, 
and both arrive at the same conclusion ; if one is divinely 
inspired the other is. Sweep from us this foundation 
and we both fall together, tor we have no other evidence 
than what the Holy Bible and the Book of Nature fur- 
nishes. 

DOES THE LIGHT OF GOD'S COUNTENANCE EVER VARY. 

Never, except in degree; in the cottage, in the palace, 
over the earth, throughout the universe, it is the same, 
and this is the reason why Masonry never changes ; her 
symbols are unalterable, they cannot be increased or 
diminished. And this is a proof to us, clear and conclu- 
sive, that the religion of Masonry is from God. 

We are directed to call into requisition the whole 
power of faith, which works by love and purifies the 
heart. This element of our being enters into every de- 
partment of life, the controlling power of the world, with- 
out which no true religion can exist, and we sink back 
into heathanism and idolatry. 

Let it be remembered the visible presence of the Su- 
preme Architect was much oftner seen in ancient times 
than at present, and to the stoutest hearts, perfectly over- 
whelming. Cast your eyes upon that burning Bush ; see 
that Pillar of Cloud by day, and that Pillar of Fire by 
night ; hear the voice of the Almighty, amid the golden 
candlesticks and in the Tabernacle; listen to that deep 
toned thunder on Siniah's awful mount. Did not the Al- 
mighty appear in person on Mount Moriah, in the Temple, 
when the glory of the Lord filled the house? What lan- 
guage is adequate to convey a correct impression of this 
bewildering scene ? even imagination is lost, and we can 
only gaze, wonder and admire the merciful condescen- 
sion ot the Supreme Architect in visiting our fallen world 
and calling upon His faithful laborers to erect Him a 
house where His name should be recorded forever ; but 
these days of miraculous signs and wonders have passed 
and those of intense study and untiring industry have 
succeeded. Did not the fraternity of Free and Accepted 



12 MASONRY, PAST, 

Masons build this Temple? the most costly and magnifi- 
cent the world ever saw. And are we not endeavoring, 
though feebly, to imitate their example in fitting up an 
earthly Tabernacle, where the Most . High, we hope, will 
take up His abode in our hearts ? Know ye not the Tem- 
ple of God is within us ? and to whom can these words 
more strictly apply than to God's own builders whom He 
has selected out of the ruins of the fall, to be the repre- 
sentatives of His glory through all coming time without 
jar, seism, or discord, for there was neither the sound of 
axe, hammer, or any metal tool heard at the building of 
the Temple, and was not this from Heaven ? And we are 
the only institution in the world that uses so great a 
variety of emblems and symbols for scientific, moral and 
religious purposes, to encourage us in our work and for 
the benefit of our race. Much is said of the light of rea- 
son, science, moral and religion ; yet, without the Book 
of Nature, the volume of inspiration, maps, charts, em- 
blems, symbols, or something of the kind, to impress these 
truths and moral grandeur upon the mind, they tail of 
that impressiveness, the solemn ceremonies inculcated in 
the lodge room is designed to represent. 

How often we are told that by patience, toil, industry 
and perseverence we must advance from one degree to 
another until we arrive at the summit of perfection, and 
as faithful workmen, be admitted into the Grand Lodge 
above where the Supreme Architect of the Universe pre- 
sides. But this momentous truth never was understood, 
not even by a Mason, without intense application and the 
most untiring assiduity and perseverence. " Lo, I am 
with you always," saita the Saviour, " even unto the end 
of the world." Has the God of our fathers ever given 
any greater assurance ? If he has not, then all the essen- 
tial elements of our holy religion are immediate inspira- 
tions from Him. 

The Supreme Architect well knew that without sym- 
bols or emblems to reflect His glory, all would be 
darkness and confusion; no symetry, order or harmony 
in any department of the Temple, and His divine glorv 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 13 

could not be understood or appreciated by any intelli- 
gent being in the universe. Why do the Heavens declare 
the glory of God, and the firmament showeth forth His 
h andiwork ? Why are these spread out in glowing let- 
ters of light for His creatures to look at? Why are we 
so often reminded it is our duty to contemplate the glo- 
rious works ot creation and to adore their great Creator ? 
Can this impression be made upon our hearts, and all 
'this be done without religion? Impossible. Again: 

THE LIGHT OF GOD's COUNTENANCE IS AN EMBLEM OF THE SOUL. 

That mighty, thinking, working power within us is not 
the Deity but His image, to work out the problem of our 
being upon the great tressel board of human life. Plow 
illimitable the researches of the soul ; how boundless its 
range ; how lofty its flights ; its home is in Heaven, it is 
bound for the skies and into those bright mansions. By 
faith in God and the key, we hope to mingle with those 
glorified spirits ; the last home of the free. None but 
brave and honest men have a soul worthy the name. 
None but true and faithful workmen can expect to receive 
wages in the Grand Lodge above ; for we are to be re- 
warded according to our works. Is there any other re- 
ligion ? If so, where is it found? Again : 

LIGHT IS AN EMBLEM OF LIFE. 

Wherever it shines over the dark regions of the world, 
joy and gladness are diffused. " Our Grand Master," St. 
John the Baptist, says that Life and Light are the same. 
'' In Him was life, and life was the light of men ;" (John 
1st and 4th.) That He is the true light that lighteth 
every man that cometh into the world. This element of 
faith, sustained by incontestable evidences from the word 
of God, possess a sublimity and moral grandeur un- 
equalled by any other institution in the world. If this 
is untrue, then our Saviour has never taught us what 
kind of worship is most acceptable in His sight ; then 
the Fraternity and the Church will go down together, 
and there is no such thing as science, morals or religion 
in the world without light. 



14 MASONRY, PAST, 

Brother Mackey, in his " Lexicon of Free Masonry," 
says : " Intellectual light was the object and the attain- 
ment, the end of all the ancient ' mysteries. 'j r ' Its ve- 
losity from the sun, a body of fire a million times greater 
than our earth, almost surpasses the power of imagina- 
tion ; it travels at the rate of ten millions of miles in a 
minute. How grand, glorious and god-like is this sym- 
bol to the fraternity when properly understood and duly 
appreciated ; it is a just representation of the Divine and" 
Holy Spirit upon the souls of all intelligent beings, 
whether on earth or in Heaven. 

IS THE LIGHT OF GOD'S COUNTENANCE UNIVERSAL? 

As far as we know, it is. Nothing can be more im- 
pressive and god-like than a symbol referring to that Di- 
vine and Holy Spirit that prevades all space and flashes 
over the universe. It is an emblem of -intelligence. It 
enlightens the mind of a glow-worm, the seraph, the in- 
sect and the angel ; man's loftiest powers depend upon 
it ; the laws of our being, the natural and moral world, 
the universe itself, as far as we know, are but symbols or 
reflections of this light. 

If there was no son, moon or stars in the Heavens, no 
light of God's countenance upon the souls of intelligent 
beings, darkness and untold mystery would brood over 
all the works of God and man be doomed to plunge on 
forever and forever without finding his way out; no joys 
tor the present, no hopes for the future, and so impervi- 
ous would be the gloom of the world that philosophy, 
science or literature could not remove it or lift the veil 
that would brood like a pa r il of death over man's loftiest 
powers, prostrating them into dust. Without light exist- 
ence would be an unmitigated curse, Masonry a farce, and 
religion a falsehood. Without it there is no Heaven and 
no God, as far as we know, for God is light and in Him 
is no darkness at all. And the Saviour says : " lam the 
light of the world." (John 8, 12.) 

And does not h overwhelming truth include faith 
obedience and man's entire redemption from the effects 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 15 

of the fall ? And if we do not believe it, why is our at- 
tention so often directed to the star in -the East ? The 
song of angels, glory to God in the highest, on earth 
peace and good will to men ? If this is untrue, then the 
hope of the world has perished. But how can this sub- 
ject be more strikingly exemplified than by the use of 
emblems enforcing upon the mind its solemn realities 
with great moral power ? If the emblematical language 
of these sublime mysteries, so carefully handed down to 
us from " time immemorial," was designed to teach noth- 
ing more than a mere casual glance at those symbols ? 
the Order would netver have existed. It would be too 
childless for prophets and holy men of God, in all ages, 
to patronize and lend the mightiest energies of their com- 
bined intellects to sustain. But there was a higher, nobler 
and holier thought impressed upon their minds when 
they embodied light into the system of their work as the 
leading element of their faith. Were our forefathers ig- 
norant of what they were doing? Impossible; they 
acted under the immediate inspiration of the Almighty. 
And are we unmindful of what they have taught us ? It 
never has been denied, even for a moment, we are in pos- 
session of a mystical language of signs and symbols, 
known only to ourselves, which will forever baffle the pry- 
ing eye of the world to penetrate, wholly devoted to the 
propagation of morals and religion among the Order, and 
for the good of our race. Let the world frown, as it 
ever has done, against all god-like institutions, we shall 
silently work on, like the corals of the ocean, regardless 
of the maddened waves that dash around us, or the howl- 
ing tempest that sweeps over us, they are but the idle 
breeze we heed not. 

Let it be remembered that at the command of the Su- 
preme Architect, chaos fled and darkness rolled away. 
This was ancient Masonry and religion both, practised 
by the Egyptians, Phoenicians, Babylonians and many 
other nations long before the Jews existed as a people, 
and more than two thousand years before Solomon's day. 

And is it not equally true, the darkness of heathenism, 



16 MASONRY, PAST, 

that broods over a greater portion of the earth, will yet 
hear the mandate of the Almighty. Eternity filled with 
his voice, and Heaven's broad arch ring back with the 
sound, let there be light, and nations will be born to God 
in a day. 

But do Masons believe in the New Birth ? Certain- 
ly we do. Brother Mackey, in his Lexicon says : " It 
has ever been held sacred by the Church and the frater- 
nity in some form throughout the world." Our Saviour 
says : " Ye must be born again." The meaning of the 
expression in the Greek and Hebrew languages is, change 
your minds from unbelief, idolatry, isms and false re- 
ligion that throw their darkening shadows over every- 
thing holy and divine, " and believe I am the light of the 
world." This fundamental element of our faith, is as im- 
mutable as the throne of God, which the world, or the 
power of darkness, with all their malice, can never shake 
or disturb. 

The Temple is rising in majesty and might, 
Love gleams from her altars effulgent and bright, 
The hallowed rock of Ages, is her firm base, 
And Earth's loudest thunders her dome cannot shake. 

The Author. 

AGAIN : — INTELLECTUAL LIGHT. 

Is an embodiment of all the science, morals and relig- 
ion known in our world ? Let it be remembered that 
God is light. He is the Sun and center of the universe : 
He bespangled the firmament with the stars of his right 
hand, and sheds his beams increasingly glorious upon the 
laborers in his temple, and the Mason, who has but a 
faint knowledge of the true meaning of this symbol never 
can be ignorant of its sublime and holy teachings. When 
our attention is directed to it in our labors, it invariably 
refers to the Deity and not to his works. Millions gaze 
upon the light of Heaven every day without the slightest 
emotion of interest. But to a Mason this kind of listless 
indifference is impossible. But with all the powers of 
reason, revelations and the symbols of the Deity, spread 
out in glowing letters ot light for his creatures to look at, 
how little we are apt to reflect beyond the mere forms 



PRESENT AtfD FUTURE. 17 

and ceremonies of the Lodge Room, or dwell for a mo- 
ment upon the great object the fraternity has in view 
and the mission she has to fill. Alas! for poor frail na- 
ture! But the emblematical language of the Order, tak- 
ing the book of nature and the Holy Bible for our guide, 
is better calculated to elevate man in the scale of being, 
renovate his moral powers, lift his soul to God, and fix 
his hopes firmly on Heaven, than any system in our 
world. Is not intellectual light then as ancient as the 
Deity? If it did not exist before the world was, when, 
did it come into being ? Revelation did not make it, men 
or angels did not produce it any more than they created 
the Deity himself. This element of our being, the Alpha 
and Omega of the Order, is absolutely eternal, and our 
forefathers were taught by immediate inspiration what 
-use to make of it in this earthly lodge. The initials A. 
L., in all our manuals, means the year of light. Sym- 
bolism or Masonry was ever present with the Deity in all 
his works. She heard him issue his commands to Chaos, 
and the whole mass, by an almighty and mysterious 
agency, unknown to us, was agitated with a vivifying 
motion, which caused the elementary principles to unite 
■and presented to the eye of the Supreme Architect asep- 
erate form, then fire gave its light amid the darkness and 
air, and earth, and water were seperated from each other, 
and these elements entered into the composition of all 
other bodies, then the universe was full of light and life ; 
then the Logos or the soul of the world, received a spher- 
ical form of all things God had yet made the most per- 
fect and brought intoorder by the fiate of the- Eternal. 

The subject is much enlarged in Plato's History of the 
Creation. Dr. Oliver says: "Plato was initiated into 
the secrets of Freemasonry by Jeremiah, the prophet.'' 

This mysterious and wonderful process in making the 
world coincides exactly with the history of Creation 
given by Moses, as far as he could understand or enter 
into the details of these wonderful and incomprehensible 
ways of the Almighty. Masonic tradition has preserved 
a faithful record of these overwhelming mysteries, forever 



18 MASONRY, PAST, 

kept secret from the vulgar and profane, who dared not. 
or could not penetrate the veil of knowledge or the inef- 
fable glories of the eternal One, and this was Masonry, 
or Symbolism in the first ages of this world's history. 

She heard the Deity speak, and it w 7 as done ; he com- 
manded, and it stood fast; she heard the great clock of 
eternity as it beat the first notes of time, while enrap- 
tured millions re-echoed the praise of God and swelled 
into anthems of glory at this new unexpected and won- 
derful display of almighty power and goodness. She 
saw the earth as it rolled from the forming hand of its 
Creator, and witnessed the first motion of the planets as 
they revolved, flashed and blazed like the rapidity of 
thought around the burning throne of God, but in per- 
fect harmony with the established laws from which they 
have never varied. And the skillful Mason at once per- 
ceives why these immutable laws were incorporated into 
a perfect system, carefully commanded and faithfully 
handed down to us from this early age for the benefit of 
our race, and so strikingly exemplified in all the degrees 
pertaining to the Order. (Psalms 33, 9.) 



CHAPTER II. 

The Supreme Architect Represented — First Communicated a Know- 
ledge of Himself to Man — Religion of Our Forefathers — Begin 
ning of the World — Division of Time — Seven Liberal Acts of 
Science — The Deity of the Author — Geometry a Proof of Relig- 
ion — Wisdom of Our Forefathers — The Beginning of the World 
— Astronomy, Age of — Stuekly's Opinion Reduced to a Mathe- 
matical Demonstration — Primitive Masonry and Religion the 
Same — Ceremonies to Reprerent Greek Events, what ? — Wisdom 
of Our Forefathers, what ? 

HOW IS THE SUPREME ARCHITECT REPRESENTED, 

In drawing his plans, establishing the laws and erect- 
ing the structure of the universe? Frequently by having 
eyes that he sees, ears that he hears, and hands that he 
handles. But, it will be said, these are highly figurative 
expressions to prove the truth of any religion. So is Ma- 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 19 

sonry, and nearly one-half of the Holy Bible is written 
in the same language. Some portion of the Prophets, 
Job, Solomon's Songs, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, Eevela- 
tions, and many others are of this description. But how 
often, by the aid of geometry and astronomy, a lesson is 
impressed upon the hearts, which never can be effaced , 
that at all times, and under all circumstances, we must 
pay that rational homage to the Deity which at once con- 
stitutes our duty and our happiness. Has the Almighty 
ever laid down any other rule than what relates to man's 
duty and his happiness ? If he has, the world has never 
been informed of it ; but on the contrary, has He not en- 
stamped it upon the very laws of our being ? Is it not 
the instincts of our nature to worship the God of our fath- 
ers in spirit and in truth ? whose presence fills immen- 
sity and is not circumscribed by bounds or space, and is 
not this God's religion ? and are we not endeavoring to 
enstamp upon the mind of our votaries these solemn and 
overwhelming truths ? Take from us this element of our 
faith and we are lost, because no religion can exist a mo- 
ment without fai,th. But the more firmly we believe and 
practice upon the principles laid down in the Holy Bible, 
the brighter will our light shine before men, and they, 
seeing our good works, may be led to glorify our Father 
who is in Heaven. 

WHAT WAS MASONRY AND RELIGION, THEN", IN THE FIRST 
AGES OF THE WORLD'S HISTORY ? 

Absolutely the same. Because all knowledge of God, 
his laws and the world he had created, was communicated 
orally. If this is true, they are the same now, for the esse- 
ntial elements of either never change. Forms and creeds 
of religion vary, but its high and holy teachings, such as 
love to God, our neighbor, and ourselves, are unalterable 
and eternal. 

HOW DID THE DEITY FIRST COMMUNICATE A KNOWLEDGE^OF 
HIMSELF TO MAN. 

By emblems, symbols and wonders. The only medium, 
employed in| the infancy of the world to make known to 



20 MASONRY, PAST, 

intelligent beings the purposes of God and what he in- 
tended to do with man and the world he had created, 
clearly manifesting by unmistakeable signs his power 
and presence in all the changing vicissitudes of lite. 
Again : 

THE RELIGION OF OUR FOREFATHERS CONSISTED WHOLLY IN 
SYMBOLS, EMBLEMS AND HIEROGLYPHICS. 

Stuekly, in his antiquity of the world, says: "The 
Chaldeans, Phoenecians, Babyloneans, Egyptians, Socre- 
ties, Plato, and all the ancient philosophers of those days, 
represented truth as an eternal principle by hidden im- 
ages, and these were invariably taught in secret. All the 
learning ot Egypt was communicated in the same way 
before the art of printing was known. This included the 
only adoration and praise in the first ages of the world, 
still called by the Jews the precepts of the sons of Noah. 
This method of instruction on the momentous truths of 
science, morals and religion, has come steadily down to 
us amid the convulsions of the world, where anarchy, 
idolatry, confusion and desolation reigned supreme over 
the nations of the earth; but God's religion lives, sup- 
ported by tradition, history and Revelation, without the 
possibility of change. No other institution in the world 
has adopted this method to communicate a knowledge ot 
the true God and the worship due to His great and holy 
name, and the most wonderful events that have ever 
transpired in the annals of our race, by the mysterious 
language of emblems and symbols, which calls lorth all 
the energies and loftiest aspirations of the soul in praise 
to the everlasting God. 

Let it be remembered, Masonry, resting upon the im- 
mutable laws of the Almighty, does not depend for its 
existence upon belief or unbelief, any more than the be- 
ing of a God does upon the opinion of the creatures he 
has made. If this be true, then Masonry, in all its es- 
sential elements and relations, are the same. 

But, it will be said, Masonry is unnecessary because 
Revelation discloses these astounding and overwhelming 



PRESENT AN"D FUTURE. 21 

events. True ; but the Holy Bible could not make known 
to the world these sublime realities two thousand three 
hundred and fifteen years before a single word of it was 
written by Moses on Mount Sinai. 

WHEN WAS THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD 1 

Tin's is emblematically represented in the first degree. 
The following geological and historical facts on the origin 
of Freemasonry, by the M. W., Wm. S. Rockwell, Grand 
Master of Georgia, will, we think, be read with deep in- 
terest by the Fraternity : 

The period referred to in Gen. 1, 1, is generally sup- 
posed to mean about six thousand years ago; but the re- 
searches, deep in the solid rock, have demonstrated this 
to be altogether too brief a pariod for the duration of the 
world's existence. During the formation of the second- 
ary rocks, their stony chronicles declare that surging 
breakers rolled their crested volume to the shore with 
each ebbing and flowing tide, heaved mountain high by 
the wintry storm or smoothed to the murmuring swell by 
the soft breathing wind of Summer. 

The very limits of these primeval oceans, exhibited in 
their sandy margins, dinted by the ripling wave. The 
wind slanted rain drop graved its existence too on the 
same rocky record ; vegetation advanced then as now, 
and the alteration of the season has been read by the eye 
of science, in adamantine characters on the section of 
the forest trees and rocks of that remote and undefinable 
era, periods so vast were necessary tor the accomplish- 
ment of this asserted geological phenomena that the hu- 
man mind refused its credence to the brief announcement 
on the inspired pages of the pentateuch as the only true 
record, and at the same time laughed to scorn the blas- 
phemer's declara ions (as they termed it,) from the gran- 
ite volume of nature; but the slender hold of dogmatism, 
on the age of the world, from these chronological inves- 
tigations, was nevertheless doomed to be broken and the 
shorter computation of the world's chronology can no 
longer be relied on, and the conjecture of the epoch of 



22 MASONRY, PAST, 

the deluge and the creation have receded into the gloom of 
primeval time and perhaps forever overwhelmed in the ob- 
scurities of the past Goodrich, in his Pictorial History of 
all Nations, (b. 1, p. 34,) says : " At what period the earth 
began, we have no reason to believe but that it was 
millions of years ago and the imagination of man is in- 
competent to measure the ages since our earth began its 
course as a planetary body. The astronomical records,'' 
he continues, u of the Chaldeans, carries back, even the 
origin of society, for a space of four hundred and seven- 
ty-three thousand years ago." And on page 25 he says : 
" Astronomy is as old as society itself." It will be recol- 
lected these overwhelming truths do not depend upon 
tradition, history or revelation for their existence, but are 
astronomical records, carefully concealed in the archives 
of the Chaldean nation, and never communicated to any 
one except the most profoundly learned, who were bound 
by the most solemn obligations not to reveal them to the 
vulgar or profane who cannot understand or appreciate 
the mighty works of God in the unnumbered years that 
have rolled awav since the earth began her course as a 
planetary body in the Heavens." What a thought! 
What a theme for contemplation and study, whether as- 
tronomy, in the first ages of the world, was six thousand 
or six hundred millions of years ago, was ever in the 
most perfect harmony with religion and Masonry, and 
runs a parallel line with all the most profound sciences 
known in our world ! To study the one is to be ac- 
quainted with the other ; to believe in geometry or as- 
tronomy is to receive Masonry, because they are the same 
Though millions of ages' might have rolled over the un- 
known past since the world began, yet it is sufficient for 
the fraternity to know that infinite wisdom contrived, al- 
almighty power supported, and beauty adorned all his 
works, and they were pronounced good. 

What a deeply interesting thought! What a theme 
for the loftiest intellect to contemplate ! None but the 
Deity can comprehend and explain the laws by which 
He governs the universe ; yet He has taught us to be- 



PKESENT AND FUTUEB. 23 

lieve and obey, as far as we understand, and this is all 
that God's religion requires. Is there any other system 
that can do more than this % 

WHEN WAS THE DIVISION OF TIME MADE? 

Before man was formed. And God said : " Let there 
be light in the firmament of Heaven to divide the day 
from the night, and let them be for signs and for seasons 
and for days and years." Gen. 1, 14.) Masonry has al- 
tered no law or deviated from any rule recorded in the 
Holy Bible ; but* by the use of one of our emblems we 
are forcibly reminded a portion of our time is for the ser- 
vice of God and the relief of a distressed worthy brother. 
^See our standard works, given to the world.) Is not this 
division of time, then, as old as the world ? And is their 
anything immoral or irreligious in this ancient custom? 
As a rule of action in all the departments of life,, does the 
church, or the world give us a better system? Does the 
Bible know of any other religion on earth or in Heaven 
beyond the worship of God ? Do we not distinctly under- 
stand pure religion, and undeflled before God the Father 
is this : " To visit the fatherless and widows in their af- 
fliction and to keep himself unspotted from the world ?" 
James 1st, 27. 

Connected with the above, our minds and consciences 
must be divested of all the vices and superfluities of life, 
thereby fitting us as living stoues for that spiritual build- 
ing, that house not made with hands, eternal in the Hea- 
vens- 

The lamb has, in all ages, been deemed an emblem of 
innocence ; he, therefore, who wears the lamb-skin as a 
badge of Masonry is thereby continually reminded of 
that purity of life and conduct which is essentially neces- 
sar} 7 to his gaining admission into the Celestial Lodge 
above, where the Supreme Architect of the Universe pre- 
sides. 

Our institution is said to be supported by Wisdom, 
Strength and Beauty, because it is necessary that there 
should be wisdon to contrive, strength to support and 



24 MASONRy, PAST, 

beauty to adorn all great and important undertakings. 

Its covering is no less than a clouded canopy, or starry- 
decked heaven, where all good Masons hope at last to ar- 
rive by the aid of the theological ladder which Jacob, in 
his vision saw ascending from earth to Heaven, the three 
principle rounds of which are denominated Faith, Hope 
and Charity, and which admonishes us to have faith in 
God, hope in ^immortality, and charity to all mankind. 
The greatest of these is charity, for our faith w r ill be lost 
in sight; hope ends in fruition, but charity extends be- 
yond the grave through the boundless realms of eternity. 
What system of religion in our world can do more than 
this ? 

The mosaic pavement is emblematical of human life, 
checkered with good and evil ; the beautiful border which 
surrounds it, of those manifold blessings and comforts 
that surround us, and which we hope to enjoy by a faith- 
ful reliance on Divine Providence, which is hieroglypi- 
cally represented by the blazing star in the centre. 
*•*** ***** 

And does not this refer to the Son of God, what he has 
done tor our fallen world ? And is not this religion ? Do 
not our brethren in the highest degrees understand it in 
this light? 

There are three great duties, which, as a Mason, you 
are strictly, to observe and inculcate, to God, your neigh- 
bor and yourself. To God, in never mentioning his name 
but with that reverential awe which is due from a crea- 
ture to his Creator, to implore his aid in all your laudable 
undertakings, and to esteem Him as your chief good. 
To your neighbor, in acting upon the square, and doing 
unto him as you would he should do unto you ; and to 
yourself, in avoiding all irregularity and intemperance 
which may impair your faculties or debase the dignity of 
your profession. A zealous attachment to those duties, 
will ensure public and private esteem. 

Did our Saviour over teach any other religion than 
what is included in the above sentiment? 

These quotations from standard works given to the 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 25 

world, are deemed sufficient in this place, to establish the 
fact that Masonry is from God, and that all the essential 
elements of her holy religion are of a divine origin. If 
this be true, we are safe from the attacks of our enemies. 

The Supreme Architect has established an unerring 
rule, that intelligent beings of earth should approach His 
throne by prayer and supplication. What means those 
devout acknowledgments and humble prayers swelling 
up from warm and glowing hearts to the ever-living God 
that our votaries may dedicate and devote their lives to 
His service. And is not this an essential element of true 
religion? Can the Christian world do without it? 
Neither can we. Has the Almighty ever required any- 
thing more? Or can we perform something else that is 
acceptable in his sight besides devoting our lives to His 
service? If we cannot, then we are right in claiming 
that Masonrv is of a divine origin and our religion is from 
God. 

The author's intimate connection with the fraternity 
for more than a half of a century, traveled as a Mission- 
ary fifteen years, mingled with different religious soci- 
eties, but has never witnessed more fervent, devout and 
humble prayers than he has heard in our meetings. They 
are always solemn, impressive and deeply interesting, 
calling into requisition the whole power of the soul, and 
no where is their a greater degree of solemnity and more 
heartfelt devotion. 

Brother Mackey, in his Lexicon, page 369, says : 
All the ceremonies of the order are prefaced and ter- 
minated by prayer because Masonry is a religious insti- 
tution and because we thereby show our dependence on, 
and our faith and trust in God 

Brethren, is not this true, or are all our most solemn 
acts of devotion a mere farce, as it is said by our ene- 
mies? 

And when thou prayest, says our Saviour, enter into 
thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy 
Father, winch is in stcret, and thy Father, which seeth 
in secret, shall reward thee openly ; (Mat. 6, 6,) and one 



26 MASONRY, PAST, 

moment of sweet, holy and uninterrupted communion 
with God in secret is worth more than all the prayers 
ever made in the corner of the streets to be seen of men. 

Again : No institution in the world reads more of 
God's holy word than we do ; not isolated passages to 
support a particular creed, but God's universal laws, by 
which the Supreme Architect governs the universe. (See 
our standard works, given to the world.) Here we learn 
all that, is necessary for us to know in this life or that 
which is to come. 

Nothing can surpass in sublimity and moral grandeur, 
or be a more acceptable offering to God than singing His 
praise. This was the principal element of true devotion 
in the Temple when the glory of the Lord filled the 
house ; one hundred and thirty priests, with trimbols and 
trumpets, sounded the praise of Jehovah; the Levites, 
arrayed in white linen, stood at the east end of the altar 
of incense ; the voices of this vast multitude rang through 
all of its hallowed apartments and flooded in undulat- 
ing cadence along its secret arches, the inspired songs of 
David were its principal theme. This was one of the 
grandest displays of sacred music ever witnessed in our 
world, and yet, but a faint prelude to the 6ongs of un- 
numbered millions ot glorified spirits that circle around 
the burning Throne of God. Eternity is filled with its 
melody, re-echoing the praises of Jehovah, and Heaven's 
broad arch rings back the sound. The divine theme 
sheds its hallowed influence over every element of our 
holy religion, and irresistably inflexes in our minds the 
all absorbing truth, that everything else in the universe 
will come to an end but praise to God, and we are en- 
deavoring, though feebly, to keep alive this pure devo- 
tion in our hearts. And it is not as thrillingly interest- 
ing to us to listen to the anthems of praise as it can be to 
any others? No society can enter more deeply into this 
part of worship than Masons, and is not this from God? 

We have many good singers in our midst, our voices 
are often accompanied with the sweet tones of the organ, 
rnelodeon, and other instruments of sacred music. David, 



present and euture. 27 

our first Grand Master, says ; " Make a joyful noise unto 
God, all ye lands, sing forth the honor of His name, make 
his praise glorious, (P's. 76 : 1, 2.) Oh come, let us sing 
unto the Lord, let us make a joyful noise to the rock of 
Salvation.'' Let us come before His presence with thanks- 
giving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms, 
(P's. 95 : 1, 2.) Oh sing unto the Lord a new scng, 
sing unto the Lord all the earth, sing unto the Lord, bless 
His name, shew forth His salvation from day to day, 
(P's. 96 : 1, 2.) Let everything that has breath praise the 
Lord, for His mercy endureth forever." 

Brother Mackey, in his Lexicon, page 96, says, that 
Freemasons' Lodges are but the Temples ot the Most High, 
and, in consecrating them to His service, this mystic cer- 
emony instructs us to be nourished with the hidden man- 
na of righteousness, be refreshed with the word of the 
Lord and to rejoice with joy unspeakable in the riches ot 
Divine grace.'' This is God's religion; we have no 
other. Does the book of nature or the Holy Bible give 
us a better rule ? And does not the sentiments of Broth- 
er Mackey, as above adhered to, and believed in by the 
Grand and Subordinate Lodge throughout the world, in- 
clude all the essential elements of our holy religion. Can 
we be good Christians, or bright Masons without it ? Im- 
possible. And does not this prove, and irresistably es- 
tablish the fact, that Masonry is of a Divine origin? Or 
can we be nourished with the hidden manna of righteous- 
ness and be refreshed with the word of the Lord without 
religion ? 

But space will not allow us to dwell longer on the re- 
ligion and sublime realities of the first degree. 

CAN THE SEVEN" LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES, ILLUSTRATED 
BY SYMBOLICAL LANGUAGE IN OUR LODGES, BE CLEARLY 
TRACEABLE TO THIS EARLY PERIOD IN THE WORLD'S HISTORY. 

They can. We do not say the exact phraseology, as 
taught in our schools, was used ; but this much we af- 
firm. The elements were there, or the Order, harmony 
and government of the world could not exist Gram- 



28 MASONRY, PAST, 

mar, essential to correct language and true eloquence, 
was spoken by the Almighty betore man was termed. 
He spreadeth out the north over the empty space and 
hangeth the earth upon nothing. Job 26 : 7. Paily., in 
his Philosophy, says: "This is one of the most sublime 
expressions known in any language. No discordant notes 
with those worlds that roll, and flash, and blaze around 
the burning throne of the Eternal. There isn° speech 
nor language where their voice is not heard, their line 
has gone out throughout the earth, and their words 
to the end of the world." (P's. 19 : 1, 2, 3, 4.) These, 
and similar expressions of the Holy Bible, are an em- 
bodiment of all the grammar, rhetoric and logic in our 
world, and no sublimity of thought in human compo- 
sition has^ever equalled or compared with them since ; 
where, we would ask, is there an eloquence so mighty, im- 
pressive and profound as the burning words of the Al- 
mighty ! The Demost hones and Ciceroes of ancient times, 
the orators of our own day,or those who may come after 
us, can never equal the sublime and lofty expressions of 
the Diety. It is said of Webster, he learned his greatest 
power of utterance from the Bible. 

Arithmetic, such as will forever baffle man's loftiest 
powers to comprehend ; none but the Deity can demon- 
strate the weight, power and magnitude of those num- 
berless worlds, that roll through vast expanse. " Where 
wast thou, when I laid the foundation of the Earth ? de- 
clare, if thou hast understanding, who hath laid the 
the measure thereof? if thou knowest, or who hath 
stretched a line upon it? Whereupon are the founda- 
tions thereof fastened ? or-who hath laid the corner-stone 
thereof? Hast thou walked in search of the depth? 
Hast thou perceived the breadth? Declare if thou 
knowest it all ?" Job 38 : 4, 5, 6, 16. " He weigheth 
the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance." — 
Isaiah 40: 12. " He telleth the number of the stars 
and calleth them all by their names. And can this be. 
done without the aid of arithmetic? If it cannot, then 
the antiquity of our belief in this science is true, and 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 29 

the Supreme Being is as absolutely, and emphatically 
the Author of Arithmetic, as He is the maker of the 
world. 

These. are Masonic, and mathematical questions, which 
will baffle the intellect of the world to answer. 

We do not say that arithmetic, uninfluenced by the 
Holy Spirit, teaches religion, but our views of it in the 
lodge room, certainly are of this character. Neither do 
we affirm that Masonry in its present organized form, ex- 
isted in the beginning of the world's history ; but these 
are the elements or materials out of which the super- 
struction was composed and by the wisdom of Solomon, 
so perfectly arranged as to baffle the intellect of the 
world to gainsay or set aside. 
. Geomebtry and Masonry are synonymous, and in strict 
accordance with her laws, all the orbs of Heaven are 
moved and balanced, and counterpoised ; these immuta- 
ble laws, by which the Supreme Architect governs the 
universe, would have existed if man had never been 
formed In all agts this wonderful and mysterious sci- 
ence, has been the basis upon which the structure of 
Masonry has been erected. Sweep from us this founda- 
tion, and we fall ; but. as long as the universe continues, 
Mason ry^wili live; her principles never had a beginning, 
and they never can end. Dr. Oliver says, Book 1, p. 398 : 
" Euclid, being a native of Tyre, whose merchants trade 
with all the world, possessed the advantage of visiting 
many countries for the purpose of conversing with learned 
men, on the principles of his favorite science, and be- 
came the most expert geometrician the world ever saw." 

He was at length induced by Ptolmy Soter to take up 
his residence in Egypt, where he formed a lodge of Ma- 
sonry, which was frequented by the sons of the chief nobil- 
ity, under a former dynasty, who were reduced in their 
circumstances by wars and confiscation, that they eager- 
ly embraced ihe opportunity of receiving instruction in 
the liberal sciences, that they might turn their knowl- 
edge to an account in pro viding for their future subsistence. 
From his superior knowledge in geometry, Euclid was 



30 MASONRY, PAST, 

enabled to restore to Masonry its ancient systematic 
usages and customs, as well as to regulate the affairs of 
Egyptian agriculture ; and he becarve a general benefac- 
tor to the country, giving to the name of Masonry the 
science of Geometry. He is said to have been senior 
grand warden to grand master Ptolmy Soter, Straton, 
the philosopher, being the pillar of beauty when that 
magnificent structure was erected, called the Alexandri- 
an Library, which contained more than four hundred 
thousand manuscripts and valuable books on all the arts 
and sciences then known, as well as poetry, history, my- 
thology, geometry, and all the general literature of the 
world. 

Dr. Oliver says, Book 1, page 399: " Euclid, this em- 
inent Mason, during the course of his valuable life, re- 
duced geometry into so perfect a form, that little im- 
provement has been made upon it to the, present day." 
This science, says Dr. Oliver, Book 1, page 400, was un- 
derstood and practiced, long before Euclid's day. He 
was an expert Mason, and applied his geometry to the 
improvement of several other sciences," 

If the above facts do rot prove that Masonry was 
taught as a practical science in the early ages of the 
world's history, there is no language that can prove any- 
thing. 

GEOMETRY A PROOF OF TRUE RELIGION. 

The Holy Bible furnishes unaccountable evidences 
that these stupendous worlds of the Almighty, are made 
subservient to religion, ''from which intelligent beings 
are to receive lessons of the purest worship, to the ever- 
living God. 

" "When I consider thy Heavens, the work of thy fin- 
gers, the Moon, and the Stars, which thou hast ordained, 
what is man ? that thou art mindful of him, and the 
8on of man that thou visitest him ? I will praise thee, 
O Lord, with my whole heart, and will shew forth all 
thy marvelous works." Ps. 8 : 3, 4. 9: 1. 

This is not the place to enter largely into the origin 



PEESEHT AHD FUTUHE. 31 

of Astronomy, a few simple facts must suffice. Good- 
rich, in his Pictorial History of all Nations, Book 1, 
page 33, says : " At what period the earth began, we 
have no reason to believe but that it was millions ot 
years ago, and the imagination of man is incompetent 
to measure the ages since our earth began its course as 
a planetary body." 

What a vast and illimitable field is opening before us 
to contemplate the sciences of Geometry and Astronomy, 
in the first ages of the world's history, whether they 
date their origin six thousand, or six hundred millions 
of years ago, yet they are in the most perfect harmony 
with religion and Masonry, and runs a parallel line with 
all the most profound sciences known in our world. To 
study the one is to be acquainted with the other. To 
believe in Geometry and the religious instruction we de- 
rive from it, is to receive Masonry"; because they were, 
originally, synonymous terms ; though millions of ages 
might have rolled over the unknown past since the world 
began, yet it is sufficient ior.us to know, that infinite 
wisdom contrived, Almighty power supported, and 
beauty adorned all his works, and they were pronoun- 
ced good. If human ingenuity did not originate these 
sublime and mysterious laws that govern the universe, 
neither was it in the power of man to invent a religion 
so grand and God-like, that is taught in all the degrees 
pertaining to the Order. Connected with this glorious 
system of Geometry, are Masonic, and mathematical 
questions that will baffle the intellect of the world to 
answer. 

If the light of science, morals and religion then exis- 
ted, before the world was held sacred as an element of 
faith, in all the ancient Egyptian mysteries, and many 
of them were exactly similar to those practiced in our 
Lodges, at the present day ; and we hail it as the Alpha 
and Omega of the Order. If our ancient Brethren, 
who had been taught of God, and cheered by his increas- 
ing brightness, labored and toiled and died, and are now 
mingling with glorified spirits in that Grand Lodge 



32 MASONRY, PAST, 

above, where faith is lost in sight, and hope in fruition, 
forever basking in the sun-light of Heaven, while cease- 
less ages roll. If all these truths are not sufficient to 
prove the Divine origin of Masonry, and without light 
there is no religion, then there is no testimony, human 
or Divine, that can prove anything. And there is no 
other order in the world, that by symbols, emblematical- 
ly represents light, and the divisions of time, for the 
same moral, religious and beneficent purpose; and it is 
impossible for us to come to any other conclusion, than 
that the religion of Masonry is of a Divine origin ; if 
this is true, then we have advanced one step, and secur- 
ed an important object in our investigations, as to the 
great antiquity, and elementary principles of our faith. 

WHAT WAS MASONRY AND RELIGION THEN, IN THE FIRST AGES 
OF THE WORLD ? 

Absolutely the same; because, all knowledge of God, 
his laws, and the world he had created, was communicated 
orally ; a secret method of instruction, which never was 
understood, not even by the learned, except by imme- 
diate inspiration, intense study, and application of the 
true meaning of symbolical language. If this is true, 
•Masonry and religion are the same now. Because the 
essential element of either, are eternal and immutable. 
Forms and creeds of religion vary, but its high and 
holy principles never change. The Deity has establish- 
ed certain fixed laws to govern the moral and intellec- 
tual world ; in which we are taught, from the book of 
nature and the volume of Inspiration, the only true re- 
Hg ; on, and the only worship that is acceptable in his 
sight. And the Fraternity has forever remained firm and 
fixed in these overwhelming truths that have come so 
steadily clown to us, and are so strikingly exemplified in 
nearly all the degrees pertaining to the Order. This 
system, in the early ages of the world, as far back as the 
Order in its present organization can be traced, not only 
in its initiatory service, which are always emblem- 
atical, social, moral, and religious, but all the elements 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. S3 

of faith and practice must be taken together, which, 
forms one of the most perfect systems of religion known 
in our world. And did man originate this religion ? 
No ! no more than he created the Deity himself. 

AGAIN", IT IS ALMOST REDUCED TO A MATHEMATICAL DEMON- 
STRATION, 

That primitive Masonry was a system of pure religion, 
addressed to God in the infancy of the world, and when 
the manners of men were so pure and unsophisticated 
as to need no ceremonial laws. This, says Sir Isaac 
Newton, who was a mason, in his Chronological Tables 
of Antiquity, (p. 182), was the religion of the first ages 
of the world, still called by the Jews the precepts of the 
sons of Noah. 

IN WHAT DID THE CEREMONIES TO REPRESENT GREAT EVENTS, 
IN THE FIRST AGES 05 THE WORLD, 00 N r 1ST ? 

They were of two kinds, public and private ; and 
included natural and revealed religion. The volume of 
nature was open then as now, and all might read if they 
had sufficient minds to do so. But the Deity, knowing 
the frailty of our nature, and the liability to err on these 
momentous subjects ; the sublime mysteries of science 
and religion were under the immediate inspiration of 
the Almighty and confided especially to the few, whom 
He had selected out of the ruins of our fallen world to 
be the faithful witnesses of his glory, and directed them 
to transmit his name, carefully, through all coming 
time, not by written records, for there was none at that 
day, but by the secret and mysterious agency of the 
Infinite and Holy One who worketh all things after 
the council of His own will. Our forefathers, faithful to 
the instructions they had received, invariably adhered to 
this plan ; and Masonry, throughout the world, is to-day 
of two kinds — written and unwritten. 

IN WHAT DID THE WISDOM OF OUR FOREFATHERS CONSIST ? 

Stuekly in his Antiquity of the World Vol. 2 : p. 151, 



34 MASONRY, PAST, 

says: "It consisted wholly in symbols, emblems and 
hieroglyphics; the Chaldeans, the Phoenicians, Egyp- 
tians, Jews, Pithagoras, Socrates, Plato, and all the 
ancients and philosophers of those days, representtd 
truth by symbols and hidden images, and these were in- 
variably taught in secret. All the learning of Egypt 
was communicated in the same way before the ait of 
priuting was discovered. This method of instruction 
has come steadily down to us, amid the convulsions of 
the world, by tradition, history and revelation, without 
the possibility of a change; no other Order that ever 
existed has adopted this method to communicate knowl- 
edge, upon the most won ierful events that have ever 
transpired, by the mysterious language of symbolism, 
which is of incalculable benefit to our race. 

IF THE DEITY OK SOME INVISIBLE AGENT HAD CREATED THE 
WORLD, AND NEVER INFORMED MAN OF THIS FACT, COULD 
THERE HAVE BEEN Ah Y MASONIC TRADITION ESTABLISH- 
ED UPON THIS EVENT ? 

There could not. Man would have known that he 
and the world existed; but how they came into being, 
and for what purpose, all would have been darkness, 
confusion and uncertainty ; and he, overwhelmed and lost 
amid the bewildering obscurity that on all sides sur- 
rounded him. But this momentous event was clearly 
revealed to man, by the Supreme Architect of the uni- 
verse ; and upon it was established a Masonic tradition 
that through successive ages has never varied. 

Could our first parent doubt, even for a moment, the 
existence of that Holy and Divine being that had cre- 
ated him, and the meaning of those symbols and Mason- 
ic emblems, to inculcate these solemn and deeply inter- 
esting truths? He could not; this was impossible. How 
could he doubt? While yet in darkness, he opened his 
eyes for the tirst time on the light, and gazed in wrapped 
wonder upon the resplendent glories of the Eternal, and 
the bewildering scenes of overwhelming grandeur that 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 35 

burst upon his view. How could lie doubt, when he saw 
the sun, a globe of fire, a million times larger thaD our 
earth, rising in the east, throwing far over the surround- 
ing darkness his all powerful and penetrating beams, 
bidding confusion, chaos and void to disappear, while 
he, with the rapidity of thought, would ascend to his 
meridian glory in the south. How could he doubt, 
with the impress of the Deity fresh and warm upon his 
heart, the bright and glowing earth beneath him, which 
no sin had darkened, and on which no discord had been 
heard. Here, my brethren, was the sanctum sanctorum, 
the holiest of holies, the visible presence of the Sheki- 
nah. How could he doubt, when be had finished his first 
day's labors in this earthly lodge, and saw the sun sink 
in the west to close the day, leaving his track of burnished 
gold high in the heavens long after he had retired to 
rest. How could he doubt, during the gaze of that sol- 
emn night, which had drawn her dark curtains over the 
world, connecting the evening and the morning with 
the sixth day, filling his mind with new, strange and in- 
tense wonder; he knew not which most to admire, the 
light which had illumined the loveliness of earth, or the 
darkness that revealed the grandeur and sublimity of 
heaven. Neither is it possible for any one who has been 
initiated into our ancient mysteries to be ignorant ot the 
great leading elements of our faith. He must assent to, 
and believe in, them before he can be admitted. This 
scene in the garden was perfectly overwhelming to the 
faculties of our first parent, and yet clearly and distinctly 
understood, by the most simple laws, they were em- 
blematically represented and impressed by the hand of 
the Almighty upon the mind witli great moral power. 

And is there a well informed Mason living prepared 
to say that here was not laid the foundation of science, 
morals, and religion, that has engaged the attention of 
the mightiest intellects the world ever saw ? That here 
was not the fundamental elements of our faith, to be en- 
larged and improved upon as the wants and necessities 
of mankind required ? That here was not laid the first 



36 MASONRY, PAST, 

stone in that spiritual temple to build onr future moral 
and Masonic edifice upon ? But here was certainly the 
commencement of all that is grand, great or glorious in 
morals, science, and religion, having the promise of the 
life that now is and that which is to come ; and here, 
too, was a state of innocence, probation and trial, une- 
qualed by anything that has ever transpired in our 
world ; and here, too, was most strikingly exemplified 
the lesson of all things the most important for us to 
know, Youth, Manhood and Age. (See our Manuals.) 

Nothing impresses upon our hearts with a greater de- 
gree of solemnity the truths of our holy religion, than , 
the Plumb, Square, and Level. The Plumb admonishes 
us to walk uprightly before God and man, squaring our 
actions by the Square of virtue, ever remembering we 
are traveling upon the Level of time to that undiscov- 
ered country from whose bourne no traveler returns. 
These emblems were used by the ancient Egyptians in 
their secret assemblies fo? moral and religious purposes 
more than two thousand years before Solomon's day. 
(See Pictorial Bible, Vol. 1, p. 444.) 

An evident proot that the cross or level, inverted, was 
a sacred emblem long before the time of Moses : Dr. 
Oliver says, (B. 2, p. 442.) "This symbol, the Level, 
was carried by the Egyptian priests in all their sacred 
processions, as an attribute ot the Deity. The use of it 
in our lodges is so well understood, as referring to great 
antiquity, the moral and religious instructions it imparts, 
that nothing further is necessary in this place as an ex- 
planation. Brother Scott, in his Analogy on Masonry, 
page 92, says : "The circle in all ages has been viewed 
as an emblem of God and eternity." The Lord sitteth 
upon the circle of the earth. He prepared the heavens, 
and set a compass upon the face of the deep. P's 8, 27. 
The Circle is a mysterious and wonderful figure; it has 
attracted the attention of the world, and puzzled the in- 
tellects of the mightiest mathematicians to demonstrate. 
The Circle is always made by the compasses, and, in 
ancient times, referred to the incomprehensible Deity 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 37 

and the mysteries of eternity, long before he laid the 
foundation of the earth. These remarks are sufficient to 
show that the compasses were held in the highest vene- 
ration by the craft, and are found among all the ancient 
ruins of the old world. Thus, my brethren, in referring 
to the creation of the world, the temple, the broad arch 
of heaven, was completed without the sound of ax, ham- 
mer, or any tool of iron; and Solomon, more than 
thiee thousand years afterwards, under the inspiration 
of the Almighty, imitated the divine plan, and taught 
the same doctrine, by the same symbols used by the 
Almighty when he said, "Let there be light." Thus, 
the sun, moon and stars, which comprehend all constel- 
lations, planets, and heavenly bodies, were named and . 
placed in order, which cannot be done, as before re- 
marked, without the aid of arithmetic, geometry and 
astronomy ; and applying these immutable laws, by the 
almighty hand of the Supreme Architect, the earth rose 
out ot chaos at his bidding, fitted up with all its grand- 
eur and glory; but still it was without an inhabitant. 
Man, the noblest work of God, was to be formed ; and 
Adam, the progenitor of our race, was to be the sole 
governor, or Grand Master, of this world, a representa- 
tive, or image, of the Invisible One, in whom was con- 
centrated all the attributes of the Deity, as far as they 
could be communicated to his frail, erring creature. It 
will be remembered our first parent was never born a 
helpless infant, but formed of lawful age, though his fac- 
ulties were not yet fully developed. 

EDEN. 

In connection with passing events, we might inquire, 
where is Eden ? Though the name is not mentioned in 
Masonry, yet the hallowed associations that linger 
around this consecrated spot, and the scenes that trans- 
pired here, are deep and impressive. The Bible Dic- 
tionary, page 67, fixes the spot about one hundred miles 
north of the Persian Gulf, in Armenia. Here are the 
rivers Gihon, Hiddekel, or Tigris, and Euphrates. They 



38 MAS0NKY, PAST, 

form a junction, and empty into the Persian Gnlf, about 
thirty cle2rets north latitude. Tlie Black Sea is on the 
northwest of this province, and the Caspian on the 
northeast, and Egypt on the southeast, bordering on the 
desert of Arabia. Rev. K. I. Stewart, K. T., in his 
Manual, fixes the' spot of Eden about the same place. 
See page 127. But Masonry is not so much concerned 
as to the exact locality of Eden. We leave this for oth- 
ers to determine. But we have a deep and thrilling 
interest in the events that transpired there. Could the 
uninspired intellects of our first parents have discovered 
the true meaning of emblems, symbols, and hieroglyph- 
ics? They could not. But the Deity saw their bewil- 
dered state> had compassion on their weakness taught 
them orally, and made them understand distinctly, some- 
thing of the immutable and mysterious .laws of natural 
and revealed religion, enstamping upon their minds the 
grandeur and glory of that divine and holy Being with 
whom they had to do; pointing their attention to the 
past and the great future, what would transpire m their 
probationary state, the fortitude, patience, and perse- 
verence necessary while passing through this vale of 
tears, that they must advance onward and upward to 
that higher and better home in that world of glorified 
spirits, where the wicked cease from troubling and the 
weary are at rest. .Has the Almighty ever given to the 
world a religion that will land us beyond heaven, as a 
place of rest? 

Masonic tradition has preserved many of these as- 
tounding and overwhelming truths, and is directing all 
her energies to enstamp upon the mind of her votaries 
their greatness and importance. The most casual ob- 
server, on entering our Lodges, sees at once there is some- 
thing ancient, solemn, and impressive ; something tode- 
velope and enlarge his moral and intellectual being ; 
something that calls into requisition the whole powers 
of his soul and fixes his gaze upon things real and eternal. 



PEESENT AND JUTUEE. 89 

WHAT DID THE SERPENT IN EDEN REPRESENT ? 

Brother Mackey, in his Lexicon of Masonry, p. 437, 
says : " In Christian Masonry, the serpent is an em- 
blem of the fall and the subsequent redemption of man," 
Dr. Oliver, b. 1, p. 6b\ informs us the serpent became 
the authorized emblem both of Judaism. Christianity, 
and Free Masonry." The Knights Templars understand 
it in the same way, and no other order has ever used this 
emblem for the same purpose. 

OF HOW MANY DID THE FAMILY OF OUR FIRST PARENTS 

C< >NSIST ? 

Josephns, b. 1, chap. 3, p. 27, says: "The number of 
Adam's children, according to an old tradition, was 
thirty three sons and twenty-three daughters." And the 
Bible informs us, Gen. 5: 4, that after Adam begat 
Seth, he lived eight hundred years, and he begat sous 
and daughters." These truths are of vast moment to 
the Fraternity, and of incalculable benefit to our race. 
Tradition has discovered and brought to light a lost key 
in history and revelation both. 

WHO WAS CAIN? 

He was the first born in our world, but very little 
is known of his history, principally recorded in the 
fourth chapter of Genesis. But Masonic tradition has 
preserved many wonderful revelations made to him, with- 
out which connecting link the history of the order would 
be incomplete Dr. Oliver, b. 2: p. 121, note 19. says: 
w Our Masonic tradition records the fact that Abel's sac- 
rifice, was offered upon the famous stone of foun- 
dation and received a visible token of the Divine accep- 
tance; while the offering of Cain, not including any 
type of the covenant, was rejected and cost Abel his life, 
and polluted the earth with the blood of the first mar- 
tyr.'' He met his brother alone in the field The mur- 
der was cool, premeditated, and determined, though this 
was the first offence, the most terrible retributions of the 



40 MASONRY, PAST, 

Almighty fell upon the offender. A degree, says Dr. Oli- 
ver, 8ee b. 2, p. 121, note 23, " Called the Knights of the 
Black Cross, was intended to be illustrative of this impor- 
tant event." Whatever maybe the opinions of the world 
in reference to Cain, one thing is certain, he saw with his 
own eyes the visible presence of the Shekinah, and con- 
versed with God face to face. A celebrated artist, well 
versed in Geometry and Astronomy, gave outlines of 
the system of hieroglyphics. See Chum's History of 
Creation, p. 229. 

Architect was there also, such as man can never 
comprehend, and but feebly imitate. The heavens are 
but one broad arch of the temple of God, they declare 
his glory, and the firmament showeth his handy work. 
Psalms, 19: 1. 

These with all their grandeur and glory, with their 
myst' rious and overwhelming relations to the Supreme 
architect of the Universe, are but faint emblems ot that 
Divine temple, whose keystone is the finished and 
unseen glory of God. Where then, we ask, rests the 
power that governs this stupendous Universe? We 
are taught in it the Fellow Craft's Degree, all the ele- 
ments of science, morals and religion for which Mason- 
ry contends, existed before there were eyes to see, or 
ears to hear, or have they been invented and come into 
being since? If not, we are right in claiming that the 
Supreme Architect is the author of our faith. Because 
every good gift, and every perfect gift cometh down 
from the Father of lights, with whom there is no varia- 
bleness, or the least shadow of turning. 

HOW DID THE DEITY FIRST COMMUNICATE A KNOWLEDGE OF 
HIMSELF TO MAN? 

This was the first and only Religion ever taught in our 
World ; and our forefathers have selected the grandest 
symh.kla to impress upon the mind, these solemn and 
momentous truths, and faithfully transmit, through all 
coming time — by inscrutable laws — a knowledge of the 
true God, and the worship due to His holy name. Is 



PEESENT AND EUTUEE. 41 

there any other Religion in our world ? And are not we 
distinctly tanght it by ceremonies the most impressive, 
which never can be effaced from our memories while the 
pulsations of life beats warm around these hearts ? Did 
those ancient poets, legislators and wise men of the East 
make or originate the principles of Masonry f No more 
than they made the laws of the universe ; they were 
taught them by the Grand Geometrician, and by intense 
study and application reduced this wonderful science to 
a perfect system in all the practical relations of life. 
When the first beam of light dawned upon the world 
from the bright effulgence of Deity, Music was there; 
the anthems of glory roPed along the vaulted arches of 
Heaven, and its thrilling notes reached the utmost bounds 
of Creation, (if Creation has any bounds), and wakened 
into rapture millions of worlds besides our own. The 
morning stars sang together and all the Sons of God 
shouted for joy. (Job, 38:7.) 

Where, we ask, is there a music like the deep-toned 
harmony of the Spheres ? Written in letters of light 
upon God's eternal skies, 

" Forever singing, as they shine, 
' The hand that made us is divine.' " 

The art of music, unquestionably, is coeval with the 
existence of our race ; or, at least, with the first attempts 
to preserve the tradition and history of memorable events. 
We have positive evidence of its existence before the 
flood. When letters and writing were unknown, the 
world had sunk down into heatheuish darkness ; but the 
history of remarkable events was carefully committed to 
memory, and handed down by tradition and oral com- 
munication. 

DID ADAM EEECT A MOMUMENTAL STONE TO THE MEMOET OF 
HIS SON ABEL? 

He did"; and it was covered with geometrical figures 
and Masonic hieroglyphics, together with an explanation 
of the Tau-cross which God placed upon the forehead of 



42 MASONRY, PAST, 

Cain, lest any one should destroy him. (See Dr. Oliver, 
13, 2, 1: 120; note 18.) 

What are a few legends of the Fraternity, referring to 
the progeniture of our race? 

Dr. Oliver says, (B. 1, p. 47; notes 31 and 34) : Free- 
masonry contains a legend of a cubical stone, which was 
inscribed with a mystical diagram, that represented the 
attributes and the sacred name ot the Diety, and was 
possessed of many virtues. It informs us this stone was 
in the possession of Adam in Paradise; that he held it 
in the highest estimation, because it bore upon its face 
the ineffable name of God, who had been his friend, 
companion and guide, in that delightful Eden. On this 
stone he made his offerings to God, when that divine 
promise was made to him that the seed of the woman 
should bruise the serpent's head. On the same holy altar 
he offered a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving to God 
at the birth of his children. The mysteries of the Cala- 
bar, continues this celebrated writer, were, according to 
the Jews, originally taught by the Almighty himself, to 
Adam in the Garden of Eden. In them, they assert, 
were wrapped up the profoundest truths of religion, 
which, to be fully comprehended by finite beings, were 
obliged to be revealed through the medium of Alle- 
gory and similitude. This Calabastical knowledge — or 
knowledge traditionally reviewed — was, through a long 
succession of ages, transmitted verbally to all the great 
characters, celebrated in Jewish history. Among whom. 
David and Solomon were deeply conversant in their most 
hidden mysteries, but nobody had ever dared to commit 
anything of this kind to paper. (See Maurade's Anti- 
quity of the World ; Vol. 4, p. 448.) 

WHAT IS THE TKUE MEANING OF THE TERM CALABAR, AS UN- 
DERSTOOD BY OUR FIRST PARENT AND THE LEARNED, IN 
THE FIRST AGES OF THE WOKLD ? 

Dr. Mackey, in his Lexicon of Freemasonry, (p. 66) 
Bays : It is that peculiar science or philosophy of the 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 43 

Jews which is occupied in the mystical interpretation of 
Scripture, and in metaphorical language concerning the 
Deity and the spiritual world. All the Egyptian myste- 
ries — among which we find such a striking resemblance 
to ancient Craft Masonry — communicated their knowl- 
edge of Heavenly and Divine things in the same way. 

DID OUR FIRST PARENT BELIEVE THE WORLD WOULD BE DE- 
STROYED BY A FLOOD, OR BY FIRE ? 

He did, — predicted the event and made preparation to 
meet it. Josephus (Josephus was a Mason, or an Asseen, 
and the land of Sirad was in Upper Egypt; referred to 
hereafter) says (B. 1, chap. 2, p. 27,) that Seth and his 
descendants were the inventors of that peculiar sort of 
wisdom which is concerned with the heavenly bodies and 
their order, and that their inventions might not be lost 
before they were sufficiently known — upon Adam's pre- 
diction that the world would be destroyed at one time by 
the force of fire, and at another time by the volume and 
quantity of water — they made two pillars, the one of 
brick and the other of stone; they inscribed their discov- 
eries upon them both, that in case the pillar of brick 
should be destroyed, the other might remain and exhibit 
those discoveries to mankind, and also to inform them 
there was another pillar of brick erected by them. Wow 
these remain in the Land of Sirad to this day. 

If these pillars had been erected by the Fellow Craft, 
in their present, organized form, they scarcely could have 
been more explicit, or stated more distinctly the object 
of their erection, though varying in words and materials ; 
yet the meaning is exactly the same, and this event took 
place more than three thousand years before Solomon's 
day. 

WHERE DID THE DESCENDANTS OF CAIN SETTLE ? 

Evidently in the vicinity of Mount Moriah, where their 
ancestors lived and offered sacrifices to the one, ever-living 
and true God. And here, says Dr. Oliver, (B. 2, p. 128) 



44 MASONRY, PAST, 

the posterity of Seth dwelt, living in happiness and peace, 
ascending periodically to sing praise to God upon one of 
its highest peaks ; and had sworn by the blood ot Abel 
that they would never come down while the decendants 
of Cain dwelt in the vallies below. Joseph us says (B. 
1, p. 27,) that the posterity of Seth continued to live thus 
happy for seven generations. And this, he contiuues, 
was the exact state of the world, in all its first stages. 
Others of Seth's descendants immigrated and settled in 
Egypt, and erected those wonderful pillars in the Land 
of Sirad, more than a thousand years before the Flood, 
and continued two thousand years afterwards, until the 
days of Josephus, who lived in the time of our Saviour, 
and was well acquainted with St. John the Baptist, and 
St. John the Evangelist; our first Grand Master, under 
the Christian dispensation, for they all belonged to the 
same secret society — the Assenes. Seth was eight hun- 
dred years old when Adam died ; tradition ascribes to 
him the invention of letters, (Bible Dictionary, p. 566.) 
He understood, perfectly, the true meaning of Masonic 
emblems and hieroglyphics ; deeply versed in Geometry 
and Astronomy, and faithfully transmitted to those capa- 
ble of understanding his meaning, his wonderful discov- 
eries — his knowledge of the Deity — that had been 
communicated to him in so mysterious a manner. And 
Speculative Masonry, in our opinion, is as clearly trace- 
able to this celebrated individual as to any period in the 
world's history. Is it possible Seth could be ignorant as 
to the meaning and true intent of what his father had 
told him? 

Why did he erect those pillars at all — why inscribe 
upon them geometrical figures and Masonic emblems, 
including the profoundest science of morals and religion 
known in our world, the motion of the heavenly bodiet 
and their order ? 

Did Josephus utter a falsehood, intending to deceive 
the world, when he states positively they were erected 
for that purpose? Can the revolutions of the earth, and 
the motion of the heavenly bodies be understood, with- 



PEESEKT AHD FTJTtTKE. 45 

out the aid oi Geometry and Astronomy Let the world 
speak out and answer this question if it can. This 
science, from the earliest history of our race, was a pro- 
found mystery, and the vulgar dared not, and could not, 
penetrate the veil of knowledge. And is not Geometry 
the basis upon which the structure of Masonry is erected ? 
It would be an insult to the memory ot our pious ances- 
tor to say Seth was an operative Mason only, merely 
working in brick, mortar and stone. Is there an instance 
on the records of the world, where an ignorant, common 
Mason has erected two pillars, to commemorate the most 
wonderful event, far in the future, that ever transpired in 
our earth, and keep steadily alive that mysterious science, 
the first study of our race, and so perfectly impossible to 
be understood by the common people. Could an igno- 
rant, common laborer inscribe upon those wonderful 
pillars, Geometry and Astronomy, the profoundest science 
ever known in our world, with the specific object of trans- 
mitting this knowledge through all coming time, though 
the inhabitants of the earth would be destroyed either 
by flood or by fire ; this would be impossible, he could 
not engrave those mysterious Masonic emblems, or under- 
stand their meaning if they were engraved. He could 
not impart instruction upon a science ot which he was 
profoundly ignorant, or could have the least conception 
of. The truth is, Seth was instructed by his father, and 
faithfully performed his duty, in giving to future ages 
his wonderful discovery, and used every precaution 
against inundation and conflagration. 

The M. W., William S. Kockwell, Grand Master of 
Georgia, (quoted in the Masonic Iteview, Yol. 2, p. 5,) 
says it is a noticeable fact, however, that the earliest lan- 
guage of which we have any record, is eminently, if not 
altogether, symbolical ; this is the earliest period of 
which we possess hieroglyphical monuments. Certain it 
is, this celebrated writer continues, {Review, p. 196,) if 
the date ot the erection of the great pyramid, as fixed by 
Lepsius, be accepted as an approximation to the truth, 
the inference is warranted that the Egyptians wrot& in 



46 MASONRY, PAST, 

symbols, less than two centuries from the epoch which 
our common chronology assigns to the creation of man. 
Such a condition of a primeval people (Review, Vol. 2, 
p. idOO,) implies the necessity of the existence of some 
organization, calculated to preserve and transmit the truth, 
that such an organization did exist, is absolutely evident 
from the scope and aim of the Egyptian priesthood, by 
whom this language was preserved, almost in its origi- 
nal purity, for so long a period the phrase hieroglyphics 
signifies sacred, sculpture; (Masonic Review^ p. 202.) 
And this we conceive emphatically to be the true mean- 
ing engraved upon those two pillars more than four 
thousand }ears ago. The object in erecting them was 
exactly, in many respects, the same as that of Solomon 
in placing two pillars before the Temple; it was to per- 
petuate and hand down to future ages, to those only who 
were capable of understanding their meaning, the most 
wonderful events that our world had ever witnessed. 
Masonry understands distinctly, and can read coircctly, 
the true meaning of those emblems in their mysterious 
relations to the past, the present and the unknown future. 
If there is any other Order that can do this, our Lodges 
are open, except when we are at work ; let the trial be 
made. Bro. Strickland, in the Masonic Review, (p. Ill,) 
says, in regard to its antiquity as a practical science, it 
dates back to the first pillars and arches erected by man ; 
hence it is connected with the earliest civilization, science 
and religion. We have no other than what the God of 
our fathers has taught us. What was the design of the 
Supreme Architect in employing this method of instruc- 
tion by emblems and symbols? 

When the world was young, language imperfectly 
understood, it was the best and only medium to keep 
steadily before the mind, by ceremonies the most impres- 
sive, a constant and unwavering faith in Kim, upon which 
the hope of the world depends ; and man no more origi- 
nated this high and holy principle of the soul than he is 
the author ot his own being, or created the world. Faith 
is the gift of God, and we are endeavoring to eniorce it 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 47 

upon the mind of our votaries, with all the power we 
possess. Destroy this element of our b-ly religion and 
we perish, for nothing can be known of the vast and 
boundless realms of Eternity, but through the medium 
of faith, and without it, we cannot please God. 

The Grand Lodge of Texas, (quoted in the Masonic 
Review p. 109,) says : But we must remember that Free- 
masonry has never been, at any time, wholly operative, 
(Operative Masonry is principally confined to the rules 
of Architecture,) but from the earliest organization, a 
speculative science was always, to a greater or less degree, 
combined with the operative art. It is no secret, says 
the Rev. Salem Town, Chaplain of the Royal Arch Chap- 
ter, of the State of New York (quoted in the Masonic 
Review, Vol. 2, p. 347,) that Masonry is of a Divine 
origin ; that the system embraces and inculcates Evan- 
gelical truths; that there is no duty enjoined, or virtue 
required, in the volume of inspiration, but what is found 
in it and taught by speculative Masonry. This, the in- 
telligent reader will perceive, the Rev. Dr. had a special 
reference to the symbolical language, moral an I religious 
elements of Masonry, without which, even in the earliest 
ages of the world, it could not exist. Again, this cele- 
brated writer continues, it is no secret that the appropriate 
name of God has been preserved in every country, in 
the Masonic institutions, wherever the society has existed, 
while the rest of the world was lite; ally sunk in heathen- 
ism ; and, we might add, the knowledge and worship of 
the ever-living and true God was lost, except what was 
preserved and taught by 6} 7 mbols, emblems and hiero- 
glyphics — the first language and religion in the world. 
The great mass of intelligent Masons, says Bro. Mackey, 
editor of the Masonic Review, (Vol. 2, p. 347,) are fast 
approaching Dr. Town's conclusions, and the great in- 
crease of sound, well -written works upon the history, 
philosophy and jurisprudence of the institution is a part 
of the evidence of this quite indispensable fact. And 
this justly celebrated writer further adds, (see Lexicon, 
p. 243,) that all the ceremonies of our Order are prefaced 



48 MASONRY, PAST, 

by prayer, because Masonry is a religious institution, 
and because we thereby show our dependence on, and 
our faith and trust in God, as before remarked. If this 
doctrine was not taught by the Almighty to our first 
parents, and through successive ages by the prophets and 
learned men of ancient, times, the whole system of sym- 
bolism, Masonry, Jewish and Christian religion falls. 
The characters and mysterious emblems inscribed upon 
the pillars erected by the direction of Adam, as above 
stated, are an evidence, that the Divine mysteries were 
carefully concealed, and have come down to us without 
the possibility of change. 

And Masonry can no more be satisfied that it is not of 
a Divine origin, than she can that the world does not 
exist, or that God has ever spoken in the Book, of nature, 
or in the Volume, of inspiration, either. 



CHAPTER III. 

Pyramids built by Masons — When erected — How many have been dis- 
covered — Enoch an eminent Mason — Pyramids situated where — Grand 
Master of Georgia's opinion — Number of Pyramids discovered — Num- 
ber of men employed. 

THE PYRAMIDS BUILT BY MASONS 

As we proceed in the thread of our narrative it will 
be necessary for the reader to accompany us into Egypt, 
the cradle of literature, the emporium of all the arts 
and sciences in the world, where we shall find incon- 
testible evidences of the existence of the Craft, in some 
very efficient and organized form. > 

WHEN WERE THE FIRST PYRAMIDS BUILT ? 

The exact date is unknown, but it is universally admit- 
ted by all ancient historians and modern explorers among 
those crumbling ruins, that many of them were erected 
before the Flood, and bear Freemason's marks as fresh 
as though they were chiseled but yesterday. Dr. Oliver 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 49 

(B. 2, p. 150 : note 39,) says that it was an ancient belief 
that the pyramids were built before the Flood. Murtadi, 
in his legendary history of Egypt, (p. 119,) informs us 
that the Priest Philemon, being deputed by Pharan, the 
last Antediluvian King of Egypt, in a religious confer- 
ence with Noah, was converted by that patriarch and ad- 
mitted into the Ark with his daughter, who afterwards 
married Mizziam, the son of Ham ; Philemon returning to 
Egypt, with his grandson and thirty of his followers, re- 
opened the pyramids,taught them the secret writings of the 
temples, the mysterious knowledge concealed in them, 
and how to make new ones. This evidence is sufficient 
to show that some of the pyramids were built before the 
Flood. Bayard, Humbot, and all celebrated travelers in 
Egypt are of the same opinion, 

&Y WHOM WERE THESE STUPENDOUS MONUMENTS OF INDUSTRY 
AND ART ERECTED ? 

It is unknown, and perhaps forever overwhelmed 
in the obscurities of the past, nor is it very import- 
ant in this connection for us to know; the greater 
probability is, they were built by the descendants of Seth, 
living in the country at the time, become exceedingly 
numerous, and had already erected two pillars under the 
immediate direction of our first parent, more than a thou- 
sand years before the flood, in the Land of Sirad, wh h 
is in Upper Egypt. Perhaps it will be said there were 
not a sufficient number of men on earth at the time to 
undertake such stupendous works, but this is a mistake. 
The world appears to have been immensely numerous, 
Goodrich, in his Pictorial History of all Nations, (B. 1, 
p. 66,) says there were ten kings that reigned in Chaldea 
before the Flood. "Wiston, quoted by Dr. Oliver, (B. 2, 
p. 149; note 33,) calculates that the inhabitants of the 
world at this period were more than a billion of souls. 

WHERE ARE THE PYRAMIDS OF EGYPT SITUATED % 

On the banks of the Nile,, extending more than sixty miles, 
4 



50 MASONRY, PAST, 

rising in awful grandeur and magnificence to the clouds, 
looking down with frowning majesty upon the world 
below, bidding defiance to the ravages of time — have 
survived the wreck of all things, and to-day are monu- 
ments of industry, art and skill, unparalleled in the 
history of the world. 

WHAT ARE THEIR DIMENSIONS ? 

The largest, says Goodrich in his Pictorial Ge- 
ography, (p. 238,) is near the Nile, and covers elev- 
en acres of ground, more than forty rods at the base, 
and five hundred feet high. In his Pictorial His- 
tory of all Nations, (p. 57S,) he says, in a lake in the 
interior of Egypt, twenty-five miles from the Nile, are 
two pyramids, the one half above, the other below water, 
containing three thousand rooms each. Most of these 
stupendous works of art were generally, built four-square 
at the base, and coming to a point at the top, in the form 
of a triangle ; and it is a historical fact, recorded by all 
ancient writers of any note, that the triangle, among the 
ancient Egyptians, was always an emblem of God, or 
Eternity, and this is the meaning the Knight Templars 
attach to it to this day. In the sides of the mountains 
are innumerable tombs, adorned with Masonic emblems, 
paintings and hieroglyphics, in all their most brilliant 
colors, exhibiting the manners and customs of the Egyp- 
tians in all the pursuits of life. Amid these crumbling 
ruins of past and forgotten ages of the world's history, 
the Masonic explorer finds incontestable evidences of the 
existence of the Craft in some very efficient and organized 
form. On the east side of the Nile, says Goodrich, are 
the ruins of Tentara, inconceivably grand, almost beyond 
the power of language to describe. The portico to the 
temple, he continues, is to this day, in almost an entire 
state of preservation — two hundred and sixty-five feet long 
and sixty high, the roof containing a sculpture represent- 
ing the twelve signs of the Zodiac, and is now in the 
Museum at Paris. A few miles to the west of Dendara, 
says a modern traveler, the view epens upon a scene to 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 51 

which the world presents nothing parallel. This is the 
site of Thebes, once the proud mistress of the world, 
with ten thousand marble towers and fifteen hundred 
brazen gates. The founders of this magnificent city are 
unknown in history, and belong to the forgotten ages of 
the past ; but all ancient and modern historians agree 
that it was the work of the first ages of the world, and 
almost eclipse in magnificent grandeur, all that art or 
power has ever accomplished since. At first, continues 
this celebrated traveler mentioned by Goodrich, I only 
saw a confusion 06* portals, obelisks and columns, all of 
the most amazing and gigantic size, towering in gloomy 
and terrific grandeur above the palm trees ; but gradually 
I saw, on the Arabian side of the ruins, the palaces of 
Karnac and Luxor, surpassing in grandeur any other 
structure of ruined magnificence in the world. The 
French engineers, on horseback, were an hour and a half 
in performing its circuit, which, they say, must have been 
four miles at least. Here the ancient Egyptians appear 
to have lavished all their skill in engraving emblems and 
hieroglyph 1 cal paintings. Here are two obelisks — one 
sixty-nine, and the other ninety feet high — adorned with 
sculpture and Masonic symbols of the most perfect exe- 
cution. The principal hall, says this traveler, (Goodrich's 
Pictorial History of all Nations, B. 1, p. 75,) is almost in 
an e itire state of preservation, three hundred and eighty 
feet long and one hundred and fifty-nine broad, and the 
roof is supported by one hundred and thirty-four columns, 
seventy feet high and eleven feet in diameter. They are 
all adorned with Masonic emblems and hieroglyphics, 
with the most exquisite colors the world ever saw, bid- 
ding defiance to the ravages of time that have swept over 
the earth with the besum of destruction ; but Masonry 
has lived where kingdoms have been overthrown, and 
whole nations gone down in a day, as a monument of the 
protecting power of the Almighty, under whose all seeing 
eye not a sparrow falls without his notice. On entering the 
parlor ot these ancient ruins, says Denan, a French trav- 
eler, the scene is almost overpowering — superior to any 



7 52 MASON**,- P'ASTy 

other earthly object of art, or grandeur, known in otff 
world. The whole French army, coming in sight of these" 

* tremendous works of art, baited in an instant and stood 

- still, as if struck by an electrical shock. It was at this 
place Bonaparte (Bonaparte and all his generals were Ma- 

-eons) halted his army, and in those poetical strains so- 
peculiar to himself, drew his sword, and pointing to those 

' awful summits, rearing their boary beads among the 
clouds, "Soldiers!" said he,' "from yonder height the 
-eyes of more than forty centuries are looking down upon 
you." Devilurous and Jolis, (See Goodrich's History of 
all iNTations, p. 98,) both eminent French travelers in 
'Egypt, say the scene is rather the effect of the imagina- 
tion, surrounding itself with images of fantastical gran- 
deur, rather than anything that belongs to real existence 
(Belzoni, who had spent many years amid the ruins of 
•Egypt, says that the most sublime ideas that can be 
formed from' the most magnificent specimens of art or 
architecture, give a very inadequate picture of these 
ruins. It appeared to me, be continues, I was entering 
a city of departed giants, and I was alone in the midst 
of all that was the most sacred in the world. Not only 
the pyramids, but there are also immense columns adorned 
with the most beautiful Masonic emblems and figures, 
The high portals, seen at a distance, the vast labyrinths of 
edifices, the various groups of ruins in the other temples, 
these, continues this celebrated traveler, had such an 
effect upon my mind as to separate me— in imagination — - 
from the rest of mortals, and for some time I was uncon- 
cious whether I belonged to this world or some other. 
The temple of Luxon, from all modern explorers, ap- 
pears as a singular and beautiful object of splendid 
ruins, superior to anything in Egypt. The view from 
the river is grand and magnificent ; the traveler ap- 
proaches these ruins from the modern village of Luxor, 
whose crowded and miserable streets form a striking 
contrast to ancient splendor. At length the porticos 
were seen, by the sides of which are two of the most 
beautiful obelisks in the world. The entrance into the 



PRESET AND FUTURE. 53 

palace is equally grand and imposing; it presents to 
view more than two hundred columns of different di- 
mensions, many of them more than ten feet in diameter, 
in a moat perfect state of preservation, and nothing, 
continues this traveler, is more remarkable than the pro- 
fusion of sculpture with which these obelisks are adorn- 
ed, they are primitive and favorite ornaments on all the 
Egyptian edifices, and remarkably perfect. In the Pal- 
ace of Karnoc the Masonic emblems are engraved and 
executed with as much care as if they had been the 
work of the most skillful seal engravers, and as fresh as 
though they were chiseled but yesterday. The following 
extract on the origin of Free Masonry, by the M. W., 
¥m. S.Rockwell, Grand Master of the State of Georgia, 
will, we think, be read by the Fraternity with deep and 
thrilling interest: 

" Tie 6eulptured walls of these roofless temples, the pol- 
ished faces of the obelisks, which adorn their entrances, 
the granite linings of the secret chambers of the pyra- 
mids, the plaistered galleries of the cavern tombs of 
Beni-hassan and Ipsamboul, are profusely covered with 
images, paintings, and inscriptions. On every monu- 
ment of Egyptian glory, pyramid or obelisk, temple or 
tomb, co-etaneous with this long period of more than a 
thousand years, of which history has preserved no re- 
cord ; among the hieroglyphic characters, which chron- 
icle the grandeur and magnificence of Egypt in that 
primeval age, the symbols of our order are found in con- 
stant and familiar use. The consecrated manger, Beth- 
lehem's typical cradle of the new-born Saviour, Egypt's 
venerated symbol of light and revelation, to-day the 
Master's Square and ensign of his rank, the Sacred Tau, 
the Crux ansata of the moderns, the predecessor of the 
Christian Cross of the Templar, then, as now, the em- 
blem of eternal life, worn to day by the senior Warden ; 
the hieroglyphic M, symbolizing the dew of heaven, the 
emblem of baptism and regeneration, borne upon the 
breast of the candidate, the most impressive portion of 
the great legend of the Order, to-day the jewel of the 



54 MASONRY, PAST, 

junior "Warden, are readily recognized by the Masonic 
explorer among the hoary relics of an antiquity which 
consecrates the banks of the Nile, and makes their monu- 
mental legends the history of a forgotten world. In the 
classic land of India, whose early annals are heavily 
overlaid by the misty strata of many curious and sym- 
bolic myths, through whose deepening gloom the his- 
toric inquirer must zealously penetrate, the well-known 
symbols of his order greets the Mason's eye. The won- 
derful temples of Salsette and Elora, throughout whose 
pillared aisles, whose dim and clouded galleries, and 
along whose ample space of roof mysterious sculptures 
^and recondite emblems, all excavated from the solid 
rock, are profusely scattered, once served as a magnifi- 
cent adyta, within whose veiled recesses the ancient 
Hindoo practiced his Masonic rites, and taught his sa- 
cred mysteries, at a period perhaps forever overwhelmed 
in the obscurity of the past. 

" Not alone on the ancient temples of India, or on the 
lofty monuments of Egypt, do our symbols occur; they 
are found in other lands, at unknown periods of the 
world's history, among the gigantic remains of a people 
whose intercourse with the East is still unascertained, 
but who were certainly the conquerers as well as the 
vassals of Egypt. Discoveries at the famous Rirs-Nim- 
roud, the conjectured site of ancient Ninevah, have 
revealed the existence of a cartouch containing, in 
Egyptian hieroglyphics, the name of an Assyrian king, 
utterly unknown to the historian. Here, too, upon the 
seats of the divinities, supporting the cartouch, appears 
the sacred Tau of the Hieratic alphabet, the hieroglyphic 
emblem of eternal life. The same symbolic sign occurs 
upon the sculptured alabaster slabs of Khorsabad, and 
upon the ivory tablets which faced and panelled the 
temple palaces of Nimroud, reminding the explorer of 
the ivory house which Ahab built, and whose elaborate 
splendor was recorded in the last book of the Chronicles 
of the kings of Israel. * 

Sufficient of the Assyrian ruins have not yet been 



PRESENT AND IUTURE. 55 

exhumed, to develope if other of the Egyptian hiero- 
glyphics occur among their sacred emblems ; but the 
carved and sculptured cornices of these magnificent 
apartments reveal in great profusion, the lily work, the 
net work, and the pomegranates, which, some ten or fif- 
teen centuries later, adorned the glorious temple dedi- 
cated by the Hebrew monarch to the worship of the 
great Jehovah. 

"The peculiar meaning of the symbolic jewels of the 
craft, for many centuries, has been taught only within 
the walls of our lodges. Scarce a score of years have 
elapsed since scientific research has demonstrated these 
to be their ancient signification^ — a coincidence which 
cannot be considered the result of accident. This won- 
derful similarity of meaning is not confined to our jewels 
alone ; it may be conclusively associated with many of 
the most ancient symbols of the order. The point within 
the circle, the triangle, the bee hive, the cable-tow, and 
the trowel, and even the Deacon's rod, borne before the 
Grand Master, the simple emblem of his absolute power, 
are all referable to that dim and misty era, when the 
primitive language of mankind, oral as well as written, 
consisted alike in symbolic terms. 

" It is difficult for the unreflecting to appreciate the 
uses ot symbolism. To us, whose cursive method of 
graphic communication seems not to be the result of 
long continued and repeated stages of improvement, the 
hieroglyphic writing of the ancient Egyptians appears 
to be the fantastic sport of ingenious inventors, tasking 
their utmost skill for artistic concealment or ludicrous 
perversion. In the days of Pharaonic glory, however, 
this was as necessary a part of the education of the 
prince, the priest, and the scholar, as any of the varied 
branches of modern science that now engage our philos- 
ophers, or occupy the time of our schools. The employ- 
ment of symbols is so common with us, at this day, that 
few pause to inquire their meaning. The statue that 
crowns your court-house cupola, a copy merely of the 
judicial emblem suspended on the neck of the Egyptian 



56 MASONRY, PAST, 

functionary, before the time of Moses, elicits scarce a 
passing glance of attention ; the sacred cross surmount- 
ing the lofty spire that towers above the sanctuary, or 
flashing out its consoling teachings from the gems that 
sparkle on the breast of beauty, speaks its familiar doc- 
trines even to the eye of childhood ; the plain gold ring, 
mingling its mild lustre with the jewels of imperial 
magnificence, or feebly glimmering within the walls of 
the peasant's hovel, breathes alike to the heart of man 
of that home 'which plighted love endears;' the star 
spangled banner, floating on the breeze, reminds the 
wandering citizen of the land of his allegiance, and 
thunders forth in its fluttering folds the story of a na- 
tion's grandeur and a nation's power. The symbols of 
ancient civilization were not less trumpet-tongued than 
these, whose familiar use excite no surprise and arouse 
no inquiry. Here, in that remote and undefinable pe- 
riod to which we refer the invention of symbolic writing, 
Freemasonry dates its origin." 

These astounding and overwhelming truths, brought to 
light by the deep researches of our eloquent and learn- 
ed brothers, correspond exactly with the statements given 
to the world by ail modern travelers among the ruins of 
Egypt, who all agree in asserting that on the Egyptian 
monuments are found the all-seeing Eye, the Globe, the 
Net Work, the Lily "Work, the Pomegranate, the Bee- 
hive, the Trowel, the Square, the Plummet, the Level, 
the Triangle, and many other Masonic emblems of equal 
importance to the craft. Scarcely twenty years have 
elapsed since scientific research has demonstrated these 
to be Masonic Emblems, the ancient and only significa- 
tion. 

E. S. Giddon, Esq., in an address before the Lowell 
Ins itute, 1853, witnessed in the presence of Chancellor 
Walworth, late Grand Masterof the Stateof New York, 
to the correctness of these allusions. 

It these statements be true, and we have no reason to 
doubt them, how much the world is indebted to Masonry 
for preserving many of the arts and sciences, morals and 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 57 

religion, and rescued from oblivion — from those dark 
and forgotton ages of the world's history, where all 
knowledge of the true God was lost, and the nations of 
the earth sunk in heathenism and idolatry — will never 
be known until the great drama of human life is wound 
up. 

HOW MAJSTT OF THESE ANCIENT PYEAMIDS — SOME BUILT BE- 
FORE THE FLOOD, AND SOME SINCE — HAVE BEEN DISCOV- 
ERED. 

Gillar quoted in the Cyclopedia, p. 264, says the sites 
of one hundred and ninety-six pyramids in all, have 
been discovered, and on page 281 he continues, I was 
struck, on approaching these immense ruins which were 
everywhere exhibited to my gaze. I wandered from 
court to court, from temple to temple, from one chamber 
to another in this rapid survey. I counted eight tem- 
ples, or sanctuaries, or sanctorums — the fraternity of 
the present day term them sanctum sanctorums — forty- 
one chambers, twenty-four courts, and three galleries. 
Carefully studying the distribution of these edifices 
around me, I came to the conclusion that they formerly 
belonged to a college — or a Masonic Lodge — of that 
day, for it is well known that all the arts and sciences 
were studied in secret, and the student passed through a 
regular initiation, and was bound by the most solemn 
obligations never to divulge to the vulgar what he had 
learned ; and on page 282, this celebrated traveler con- 
tinues, the style and ornaments are purely Egyptian, 
and in lower Nubia, everything goes to prove that the 
vast ruins of Mount Barkel are the city Napala, the 
ancient capital of Etheopia — a name familiar to every 
Master Mason —of which the ancient pyramids of Noouri 
were the Necropolis. 

These astounding truths, and a thousand others of a 
like forcible import, coincide exactly with the researches 
of modern explorers, who have discovered and brought 
to light many things of incalculable benefit to our race, 
and it is impossible for us, after so many incontestable 



58 MASONRY, PAST, 

evidences before our eyes, to believe that our ancient 
brethren were operative masons only, merely working in 
brick, mortar and stone, without any secret symbolical 
meaning of those profound mysteries which has engaged 
the study and research of the mightiest intellects the 
world ever saw. Those moss grown monuments, litting 
their hoary heads to the clouds, with a fame of more 
than forty centuries upon their brows, seem to tell a 
very different story, and there comes up a hollow voice 
from those gloomy sepulchers, startling as real life, 
which thrills upon every soul, and speaks to the living 
in language that cannot be misunderstood, Here re- 
pose the ashes of a Free and Accepted Mason — we know 
not they were called by that name in this early age, but 
their principles and their practices were the same — and 
there the remains of their mighty king, Pho, their Grand 
Master, whose kingdom, power and influence are unre- 
corded among the nations of the earth, are forever 
overwhelmed in the mysteries of the past. But the 
Masonic explorer has discovered, amid those hoary relics 
of antiquity, the existence of the craft, which is as clear 
to his mind as the sunlight from heaven. In one of 
those three thousand rooms mentioned by Goodrich, as 
quoted above, is it too much to say, was their Grand 
Lodge hall, embellished with the most exquisite and 
splendid Masonic engravings the world ever saw, geom- 
etry, astronomy, the twelve signs of the zodiac, already 
mentioned ; is it too much to say that here, too, was the 
holy altar, where our ancient brethren kneeled and 
prayed, and offered their devotions to the ever-living 
God. The wonderful and mysterious revelations mod- 
ern explorers have made from this great book of the 
dead, which had slept for ages in undisturbed repose, 
demonstrate to our mind, without the shadow of a 
doubt, that those hidden mysteriep, purely of a Masonic 
character, point us to a period long before the flood. On 
many of these hoary relics of the past were strange and 
mysterious symbols and hieroglyphics and not a man 
living, we are told, could decipher and explain in all 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 59 

their relative bearings, but a Mason in the higher de- 
grees, and even he is not permitted to,make disclosures 
of all he has seen, to the world. He could say the point 
within a circle, according to the symbolic language of 
the ancient Egyptians, invariably means the Deity sur- 
rounded by eternity. He could say the globe was an 
emblem ot the supreme and everlasting God, and many 
others the Masonic explorer has discovered have a high- 
er, more important and more significant meaning than 
has been given in our modern manuals, but all this 
would be unmeaning and unintelligible to those incapa- 
ble of understanding their mysterious connection of the 
past, present and the future ; and it is remarkable that 
the same symbolical language, inculcating the same 
moral and religious truths, were used by our ancient 
brethren, the prophets, wise men aod philosophers, more 
than four thousand years ago ; and many of these em- 
blems and hieroglyphics have recently been discovered 
upon nearly all the Egyptian monuments and pyramids, 
and some of them certainly must hare been built before 
the flood. We have no new method of instruction, but 
adhere to the original practice of communicating knowl- 
edge upon great events by the use of ancient terms pe- 
culiar to ourselves. 

HOW MANY MEN WERE EMPLOYED IN ERECTING ONE OF 
THESE PYRAMIDS? 

Pliny, in his works of Antiquity, b. 1, chap. 12, p. 36, 
says : There were one hundred and sixty thousand men 
employed for twenty years in building one pyramid. 
The object of these erections, besides inculcating moral 
and religious instruction, evidently was to perpetuate the 
memory of their kings, and to our ancient brethren was 
intrusted the learning of the world. Bro. Mackey, in 
his Lexicon of Free Masonry, p. 122-28, where this sub- 
ject is much enlarged and clearly defined, says : The 
priesthood of Egypt constituted a sacred cast, in whom 
the sacerdotal functions were hereditary ; they assumed 
also, an important part in the government, and the kings 



60 MASONRY, PAST, 

of Egypt were but the first subjects of the priests ; they 
had originally organized, and continued to control the 
ceremonies of initiation ; their doctrines were of two 
kinds, exoteric or public, which were communicated to 
the public multitude, and esoteric or secret, which were 
revealed only to the chosen few, and to attain them it 
was necessary to pa6S through initiation. This whole 
ceremony agrees almost exactly with modern practice in 
all our lodges. Their obligations were severe, promis- 
ing never to reveal to any of the uninitiated the things 
that they should see in this sanctuary, nor any of the 
knowledge that should be communicated to those having 
undergone this formality, the Neophyte was introduced 
into the most secret part of the sacred edifice, where a 
priest instructed him in the application of their symbols 
and the doctrine of their mysteries ; he was then pub- 
licly announced, amid the rejoicings of the multitude, 
as an initiated, and thus terminated the ceremonies of 
initiation into the mysteries of Isis, which was the first 
degree of the Egyptian rites. 

The second degree was celebrated at the summer sol- 
stice, and at nights, and the candidate was prepared by 
the usual fastings and purifications, and that no one was 
permitted to partake of them unless he had been pre- 
viously initiated into the mysteries of Isis. The myste- 
ries of Osires formed the third degree, or summit of 
Egyptian initiation. 

The secret doctrine of the Egyptian rites related to 
the Gods, the creation, and government of the world, 
and the nature and condition of the human soul. In 
these initiations, says Dr. Oliver, they informed the can- 
didates that their mysteries were received from Adam, 
Seth and Enoch, and they called the perfectly initiated 
Al-am-jah, from the name of their Deity. Secrecy was 
principally inculcated, and all their lessons were taught 
by symbols, and many of them have been preserved and 
recently brought to light amid the ruins of Egypt. The 
uninitiated and vulgar dared not penetrate the mys- 
teries of human knowledge. Can there remain a doubt 



PEESEHT akd future, 61 

that our ancient brethren were the principal architects 
and builders of those stupendous works of art and mag- 
nificence which have outlived everything else in the 
world ? The conclusion to our mind is as irresistible as 
the laws of light that the mysteries and ceremonies of 
the order originated in Egypt more than two thousand 
years before building the temple on Mount Moriah, 
And if this is not, what is, meant by all of our manuals in 
asserting that the order has existed from " time imme- 
morial." We know not what they mean. From the 
best authentic records, our ancient brethren, as skillful 
workmen, belonging to this mysterious and wonderful 
association, traveled into Greece} Rome, Syria, Persia, 
India and many other countries, by the name of the Di- 
onysian or Parnesian mysteries 5 hence, the unparalleled 
success and wonderful triumphs of the order. Through- 
out the world, wherever civilization has gained a foot- 
hold amongst the nations of the earth, or human beings 
marked the soil, our ancient brethren are silently and 
efficiently at work puon the great trestle-board of human 
life, strictly adhering to, and never departing from, the 
landmarks of our forefathers, admitting no new theory, 
and suffering no innovation to mar the progress of their 
work. If a grand or subordinate lodge should know- 
ingly or willfully depart from the instructions they have 
received from the most ancient times, carefully guarded 
and handed down to us with such scrupulous care, they 
would cease to exist, and not be recognized by the fra- 
ternity in any part of the world. But we cannot dwell 
upon the hoary relics of antiquity, and trace the foot- 
steps of the order through those mouldering ruins of 
forgotten ages, which carry us back upon the stream of 
time more than four thousand years ago, when the dif= 
ferent orders in architecture rose in their magnificence 
and grandeur, unparalleled in the history of the world. 
Though we cannot dwell upon the mighty achievements 
of the order in those forgotten ages, yet it is pleasing to 
reflect that we are the regular descendants of, and inti- 
mately connected with, those mighty spirits that once 



G2 MASONRY, PAST, 

ruled over and held the destinies of the world, exerting 
a moral power among the nations of the earth, unsur- 
passed and unequaled in her objects, in her interests, 
and in her triumphs. Masonry was present when the 
foundations of those mighty fabrics were laid, assisted 
in their construction, saw their completion, rising in 
unparalled grandeur and glory. She has seen the be- 
ginning and the end of the mightiest monarchies of the 
earth, over which the oblivion of interminable ages has 
rolled its ceaseless tide. She has seen the firm founda- 
tion of empires overturned, and whole nations go down 
in a day, their grandeur and glory departed forever, but 
has remained firm and unmoved amid those warring el- 
ements that have rocked the world to its center, and will 
stand, based upon the rock of ages, until the last shock 
of time bhall overthrow the universe. Then her faith 
will be lost in light, hope end in fruition; then her an- 
thems of glory will roll over the universal wreck, and 
she be admitted into the grand lodge above. We have 
traced, though feebly, the footsteps of the order through 
the mouldering ruins of the past; we have seen her 
light blaze and flash out upon the proudest monuments 
of Egyptian glory, unsurpassed in magnificence and 
grandeur by anything the ingenuity or art of man has 
ever accomplished. Her hallowed light, it is true, glim- 
mered but faintly at times through those dark ages ; at 
others, shone with a clearer and brighter effulgence, un- 
til it burst forth in all its meridian splendor upon the 
consecrated heights of Mount Moriah. Those marble mon- 
uments on the banks of the Nile, looming up in sullen 
grandeur to the clouds, will crumble into ruins, but the 
words of our forefathers, who aided in their construction 
will live in the hearts of the fraternity forever. Upon 
all these hoary relics of antiquity, of unrecorded gran- 
deur, the symbols of the order, as has been remarked, 
meet the inquiring gaze of the traveler, and chronicle 
the history of the world long before the flood, which 
forever would have slept amid the dust and gloom of 
ages, had it not been for scientific research putting forth 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 63 

all her energies, triumphing over every difficulty, and 
has demonstrated and given to the world the following 
language of symbolism, the only medium of instruction 
in the first ages of our race. 

Masonry, true to herself and the great mission she 
has to fill, has descended deep into the bowels of the 
earth, and in her untiring research has discovered and 
brought to light from these gloomy and hidden recesses, 
many things of inestimable benefit to our race, without 
which connecting links, the past, the present and the 
future, to the fraternity would be incomplete. But 
modern research has thrown a blaze of hallowed light 
over the world, and by its effulgence and increasing 
brightness, the order understands distinctly the mysteri- 
ous relation she sustains to all that is great, grand or 
glorious in science, morals and religion. The dust of 
ages has been removed, the long sleep of death, in her 
unbroken and dreamless slumbers, has been disturbed, 
those vast cemeteries of the forgotten dead have been 
opened, and our ancient brethren forgotten and unre- 
corded for ages, had slept, and the waves of oblivion 
had rolled over them ; but waked as by an impulse from 
the Almighty from their dreamless slumbers, have sud- 
denly started into life, if not in person, yet in thought, 
and deed, conversing in the same symbolic language as 
we do to day, teaching us to observe all things, whatso- 
ever they have commanded us and hold fast the traditions 
of our forefathers, which have been kept secret from the 
foundation of the world ; but it may be said these mod- 
ern explorers might have erred as to the true Masonic 
meaning of those symbols, emblems and hieroglyhhics 
found in the halls and palaces of the mighty dead in 
the first ages of the world ; this, to the writer appears 
impossible ; suppose the Grand Lodge of the State of 
New York should go down with an earthquake to-night, 
and in five or six thousands years after this should be 
found our carpet, tools, emblems, symbols and hiero- 
glyphics, could the mason, in that far distant future, and 
there will be masons living at that time, doubt, even for a 



64 MASONRY, PAST, 

moment, that the fraternity existed at this day, and if 
he was well posted in geography and ancient history, he 
could put his finger on the place, and say, here in the 
city of New York, was held the Grand Lodge of Free 
and Accepted Masons, that here our ancient brethren 
rose, labored and flourished, until in that mysterious 
brotherhood, known only to the craft ; that here repose 
the ashes of those mighty dead, whose earthly lodge for 
ages has been closed, whose energetic and triumphant 
spirits, while living, held such a controlling power over 
the destinies of the order, that here are the jewels and 
regalia — the principal jewels of the order have always 
been the same — of their Grand Masters and subordinate 
officers, sparkling in the sun-light and emblazoned in 
letters of gold upon the breasts of those who wore them, I 
that here the J.W. in the S., theS.W. in the West and the 
W. M. in the East, went down standing firmly at their posts 
engulphed in one common ruin ; that here is their altar 
that so often witnessed the devotions of humble and con- 
trite spirits; that here were our ancient brothers seated 
around the lodge, listening with profound care and deep 
attention to the instruction of ancient Masonry, which 
taught them all that is valuable in this world, or that 
which is to come. If all these could be found and 
brought to light, amid the slumbering dead and ruins of 
six thousand years, would it be possible, for the well in- 
formed Mason, to doubt of the existence of the order at 
this time? and yet the evidence, to our mind, is equally 
clear and conclusive, that the fraternity, in some s • ••• t, 
organized form, existed long before the flood, and from 
that far distant past, through a succession of ages, have 
been transmitted, unimpaired, the most valuab e tenets 
of the order» 

But there were others who acted a conspicuous part 
tapon the great theatre of life before the flood, intimately 
connected with the thread of our narrative, we would 
wot omit to mention. 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 65- 



CHAPTER IV. 

Enoch an eminent Mason — Tradition of — Bro. Mackey's opinion — 
Enoch on Mount Moriah erects two pillars — Entrusts the govern- 
ment of Freemasonry to Lamech — Tradition more reliable than 
history — Masonry contains mysteries ; it cannot be from^God, it is 
said. 

ENOCH AN EMINENT MASON. 

He was the son of Jared and the father of Methuse- 
lah, born in the year of the world 622, 1,034 years 
before the flood, 3,382 years before Christ — see Josephus, 
index, p. 643 — and 5,242 years ago. Bro. Mackey, in 
his Lexicon of Freemasonry, p. 137, says : According 
to our traditions, Enoch was a very eminent Freemason, 
and a conservative of the true name of God, which was 
subsequently lost, even among his favorite people, the 
Jews. This, brethren, is high authority, and our learned 
brother, whose deep research into the antiquity of the 
order is unsurpassed by any Masonic writer of this or 
any other age, would not hazard an opinion, and give it 
to the world, without some reliable data to draw these 
conclusions from. Bro. Scott, Grand Master of Miss - 
sippi, in his analogy of ancient Craft Masonry, p. 250, 
says, that Masonic tradition informs us, that Enoch stood, 
in his day, on the very ground on which that famous 
temple was built, and this was more than two thousand 
years before Solomon's day ; that he had been enter- 
tained there with some remarkable visions, and was 
wonderfully favored on that holy spot with manifestations 
of the Shekinah. These overwhelming truths, and many 
parts of his history, have been effectually preserved to 
the Masonic world ; these traditions are not only curious, 
continues this celebrated writer, but valuable to the craft, 
as they serve to illustrate the principles of the order. 
Enoch was at the head of the Patriarchial dispensation, 
Moses of the Law, Elijah of the Prophets, and our 
5 



66 MASOKRY, PAST, 

Saviour of the Gospel. Enoch was a mysterious man, 
of the longest longevity, he had been made acquainted 
with the ineffable name of the Almighty — not an order 
in existence can form any conception of this name, but 
a Mason — He knew the Lord for he had walked with 
Him. And on page 25, he says, this name is enrolled 
in the archives of the order, his memory has a niche in 
our temple ; we may look back nearly a thousand years 
before the flood, and we cannot refrain from quoting the 
beautiful and sublime language of brother Scott, in ref- 
erence to this wonderful man of God ; and in the eye of 
imagination, behold the ascending Patriarch, a bright 
cloud is beneath his feet, a glorious canopy is above him, 
his eye of faith was even then fixed upon that beautiful 
star — the star in the East, is well understood by the 
Knights of the Red Cross — in the East, which afterwards 
shown in Bethlehem ; on, and on he went, higher, and 
higher he ascended until he reached the land of life and 
light eternal, and the mysterious cloud, which bore him 
higher, threw its golden shadow upon the earth and 
covered all ages. But we cannot go the way Enoch did, 
with us, the dust of the sepulchre before the resurrection ; 
darkness before light, death before the life to come, the 
night of the grave before an eternal day. But the chris- 
tian Mason may gaze on the shining heavens, which 
the Patriarch mounted, and ponder upon that which 
was adumbrated when he set his foot upon the battle- 
ments of the upper world, of redemption and immortality. 
In the history of Enoch, this eminently pious brother, 
says Dr. Oliver, b. 2, p. 128, we find events which 
have excited the astonishment of all mankind, and 
traditions of his superior qualifications exist in most of 
the eastern nations. He is the reputed inventor of 
alphabetical characters, and is said to have had a perfect 
knowledge of the seven liberal arts and sciences ; in- 
deed, many excellencies have been attributed to Enoch 
which appear extraordinary at so early a period, and 
can be accounted for on no other principle than the in- 
spiration of the Most High. We are favored by St. 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 67 

Jude with a record of his prophetical endowments ; he 
lived a pious life apart from those even of his own race 
who wavered in their allegiance to their Maker. Oar 
traditions state that, in the solitude he had chosen, on 
Mount Moriah, that he might be more at liberty to 
indulge in holy communings and pious meditations, 
he was favored with a celestial vision of the Logos, or 
Shekinah, or word of God. In this vision man's apos- 
tacy and punishment were revealed to him in a scenic 
display of the events which should precede the univer- 
sal destruction by means of water and fire. A change 
came over the spirit of his dream, he fancied himself 
plunged into the bowels of the earth, descended per- 
pendicularly through a series of arched caverns and hol- 
low vaults, surrounded by apertures which were 
secured under coverings of stone, to the mystical number 
nine. He saw shining amidst the darkness, in brilliant 
contractions of light, certain mystical characters, which 
are denominated in a Masonic lodge by an equilateral 
triangle, a circle and a cube, inscribed on a triangular 
plate of gold encased with precious stones, and lying on 
a pedestal of white marble. While contemplating the 
sacred inscription with reverence, he was overpowered 
by the intensity of his feelings, and in the midst of his 
anxiety he awoke. In commemoration of this super- 
natural event, which he truly conceived was vouchsafed 
to him as a Divine communication, as a means of pre- 
serving the arts and sciences and other ineffable myste- 
ries, when the world should be destroyed, a vault neaily 
one hundred feet in depth, with the assistance of Jared 
and Methuselah, who, however, were unacquainted with 
his motives, constructed a subterranean temple in 
the bowels of Mount Calvary — Calvary, Mount Moriah, 
and Mount Zion, are different peaks of the same moun- 
tain, — situated perpendicularly beneath each other, and 
communicating by small apertures left in the floor of 
each consecutive cavern. He then made a plate of gold 
of a triangular form, each side being eighteen inches 
long, and enriching it with precious stones in imitation 



68 MASONRY, PAST, 

of the plates which he beheld in his dream. He erect- 
ed the whole on an agate stone of great brilliancy and 
beauty, and engraved upon it those ineffable characters 
which all Royal Arch Masons know. He placed it with 
Solomon's prayer, in the lowest vault, on a pedestal of 
white oriental porphery. The uppermost aperture was 
so carefully secured that it could not be discovered. 
Thus the nine arches being completed and the entrance 
from human observation secure, the treasure they con- 
tained were a profound secret, and Enoch himself was 
prohibited from entering the sanctum more frequently 
than once in a year. It was, continues Dr. Oliver, b. 2, 
p. 130, the contemplation of this divine mystery and his 
own privileges as the chosen servant of the Almighty 
that kept his own heart right in the light of God amidst the 
general depravity of mankind, and procured for him the 
singular falsity of being translated to Heaven without 
the bitterness of death. Before he was translated he 
became conscious that the sins of men would excite the 
Divine indignation, and meet a signal punishment. 
Alarmed, therefore, lest a knowledge of the arts and 
sciences should be lost amidst the universal wreck, and 
the secrets of the ninth arch overwhelmed and forever 
hid from human observation, he erected two pillars, the 
one of cast brass — did not Seth erect two pillars for the 
same purpose, nearly a thousand years before Enoch's 
time? — on which he inscribed the history of creation, the 
elementary principles of the liberal arts and of specula- 
tive Freemasonry, so far as its details were known and 
practiced ; the other of marble, covered with heiroglyph- 
ical characters, importing that near the spot where they 
stood a precious treasure was concealed in a subterran- 
ean depository, dedicated to the Most High, which wis- 
dom alone would be capable of discovering. The former 
pillar, he rightly conjectured, would stand the effects of 
a destruction by water, and the latter by fire. Having 
accomplished this great undertaking, Enoch prepared 
for his departure from a world so unworthy of his vir- 
tues. He assembled his family and tribes on the moun- 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 69 

tain of Moriah ; he then, says Dr. Oliver, b! 2, p. 13, 
17, placed the government of Freemasonry in the hands 
of his grand-son, Lamech, and received the reward of his 
fidelity, by being removed at once into the realms of 
everlasting light. Lamech, the Grand Master, was 
equally unable to work a salutary reform in the corupt- 
ed manners of the world, and therefore resigned his 
office into the hands of Noah — although a preacher of 
righteousness, attempted in vain to restore the purity of 
his race. In reverting to the occurences which are said 
to have taken place on Mount Moriah before the flood, 
says Dr. Oliver, b. 2, p. 131, I must be permitted to ob- 
serve, that should the statement fail to be borne out by 
the testimony of holy writ, they must not be attributed 
either to my invention or credulity, because, while trac- 
ing Freemasonry through all its ramifications, I am 
bound to record its traditions faithfully. The legend of 
Enoch was published in Webbs Monitor, under the sanc- 
tion of the grand lodge of the United States, some years 
since. Thus in Jonathan Targum on Genesis we find 
Enoch termed the great Scribe. Eupolenus says, p. 8, 
that Enoch was instructed in all things, letters, of course, 
included. Barhebreeas affirms that he was the first who 
invented books, and different sorts of writing. The 
Greek Christians, and all Arabian writers, according to 
Acularaguis, he supposed Enoch to be the first Egyptian 
Hermes ; and Bidavi, a learned Arabian translator on 
the Koran, cited by Hotinger, says : He was the first 
Galographer profoundly versed in astronomy and arith- 
metic. Abeu Walsh introduces the alphabet of Enoch, 
and asserts that it was communicated by the angel Ga- 
briel, while St. Augustine acknowledged that Enoch 
wrote a book of prophecy ; and Tertulian contends that 
it ought to be received into the Sacred Canon. 

Bro. Goodwin, of Tarenton, in his essay on the con- 
nection between speculative and operative Masonry, 
quoted in the Free Masons 1 Quarterly Review, p. 285, 
says : It not only appears probable that Enoch introdu- 
ced the speculative principles into the Masonic creed, 



70 MASONKY, PAST, 

but that, he originated its exclusive character; it also 
appears evident that the object that demanded the ut- 
most exertion of our ancient brethren, was that of Elicit- 
ing truth and knowledge, and propagating their beauties 
and advantages, where ignorance and idolatry held their 
prejudiced sway, and preparing the rough and unpolish- 
ed mind for the reception of those seeds of genuine 
truth and science. In the infancy of the world, God was 
more sensibly present than he now is — the Jews say the 
Shekinah was always seen on Mount Moriah before the 
destruction of their temple — often appearing to mankind 
by angels, dreams and wonders, that his creatures might 
see, worship and adore him — see the Prophets, and the 
Holy Bible. Arch-Bishop Torison, in his work on idol- 
atry, p. 323, says : I doubt not, that God vouchsafed to 
men, many other appearances of his glorious Shekinah 
besides those granted to Adam, Abel, Seth, Enoch, 
Noah, and many others, and this is confirmed by the 
Holy Bible, as well as all ancient writers. Our tradi- 
tions, says Dr. Oliver, b. 2. p. 135, note 25^ that when 
Enoch was invested with the character of a prophet, the 
Masonic Stone of foundation was intrusted to his custo- 
dy, and as the world increased in wickedness, this pious 
man, fearing lest the treasure should be wrested from 
him by force, secreted it in the bowels of the earth, 
within that famous subterranean temple which he con- 
structed on Mount Moriah, in full assurance that it would 
remain there until discovered by some favorite of Heaven. 
No truth that has ever come down to the world is sus- 
ceptible of a clearer demonstration, that pillars formed 
the earliest tablets of which we have any account, on 
which inscriptions were written. The pillars of Seth, in 
the land of Sirad, Upper Egypt; those of Enoch on 
Mount Calvary ; and those on which astronomical cal- 
culations were made in the plains of Shinar, and many 
others, are sufficient to show the universal practice of 
the world at that early age. The Arabs have a similar 
practice, but it is applied to the pyramids. Dr. Oliver, 
b. 2, p. 138, note 44, says : Saurid Eben Salhouk reign- 



PRESENT AHD FUTURE. 71 

ed over Egypt three thousand years before the flood, of 
which event he had notice in a dream, he saw a great 
convulsion in the earth, and to prepare for some terrible 
events, he erected pyramids, in which he placed records 
of the science of arithmetic, geometry and astronomy. 
Here, says the legend, were preserved the stores ot sci- 
ence and knowledge, and hence they were disseminated 
among mankind after the deluge. The Rev. Dr. also 
informs us, b. 2, p. 139, note 48, our traditions say that 
the pillars of Enoch had frequently attracted the 
attention of !Noah, who determined to explore the 
adjacent eminence of Calvary — a peak of Mount Moriah, 
about a half a mile from Jerusalem — because their 
shadows, at the rising of the sun, pointed to that moun- 
tain, in the hope that something of importance might 
there be concealed. The search was successful : he 
found there the perpendicular tier ot caverns, and, not 
comprehending the depositions, he merely removed the 
stone of foundation and placed it in the ark as a conve- 
nient altar for sacrifice. Should the evidence from the 
candid and most eminent Masonic writers in the world, 
in reference to the traditions of Enoch, be rejected be- 
cause they are not recorded on the pages of inspiration, 
this would not prove them to be falsehoods, it would 
only show the tendency of our race to disbelieve what 
they cannot understand. On the same principle, the im- 
provements of the age, the literature, arts and sciences 
of the world, even geometry and astronomy are untrue, 
and would be unknown, because they are nowhere taught 
as a practical science in the Holy Bible, though they 
are alluded to, as general laws, by which the Deity gov- 
erns the Universe. Can we understand the visions and 
dreams of the Prophets, the book of Revelations and 
man} r others, if you cannot, why not reject them ? Besides 
the same reasoning would apply to us ; we cannot 
believe we exist, our humble names have never found a 
place in history or revelation either, therefore it is not 
true that we exist, or have any being at all. But, not- 
withstanding this false reasoning, we shall go down to 



72 MASONRY, PAST, 

the world in the same way that our ancestors reached us 
by traditions. A heap of stone, a marble monument, 
will tell the simple story of our lives, and this method 
of instruction will continue, until the race to which we 
belong becomes extinct ; and this is exactly the method 
by which the most ancient Masonic records were pre- 
served, and tradition, true to her trust, has faithfully 
transmitted them to future ages, and it is impossible for 
us to be mistaken, or misunderstand the true meaning 
of her symbolical language, any more than the scholar 
can forget the letters of the alphabet, or even his own 
name, which were both taught us, by traditions and 
oral communication. From the researches the author 
has been enabled to make, into the traditions and records 
of ancient times, he has irresistably come to the conclu- 
sion that Enoch, more than a thousand years before the 
flood, originated and practiced speculative Free Mason- 
ry, that he inscribed his wonder'ul discoveries upon 
those mysterious pillars and concealed the whole under 
those nine arches already mentioned, to save them 
from the flood, is equally clear; not a man living 
could decipher those mysterious relations to the past, 
present and the future, but a Mason. 

And if this is not speculative Masonry, the writer ac- 
knowledges that he does not know what it is ; and if 
Enoch did not practice the mysteries of the art, known 
only to the craft, why is he so often alluded to by Ma- 
sonic writers, as an eminent Mason ? why confuse the 
reader with things unreal and untrue? it will not do to 
say that there were some traits of his character that in 
modern times, Masonry has modeled into system, any 
more than to aftirm our Saviour possessed the elements 
of a good man, but was not a christian. The Free Ma- 
sons' Quarterly Review, vol. 9, p. 28, says. Masonic 
tradition informs us of a cabalistic book of Raziel ; now 
the word Raziel, divided into two parts producel Raiz- 
el, that is to say, the Divine mysteries. This book in- 
forms us that Adam was the first to receive those Divine 
mysteries, when afterwards driven out of paradise he 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 73 

communicated them to his son Seth, and Seth to Enoch, 
he to Methuselah, he to Lamech, he to Noah, he to Shem, 
he to Abraham, he to Moses, and Moses to Joshua, he 
to the Elders, they to the Priests and Prophets, and 
from one generation to another down to the days of 
Solomon. In this book is also found the sign of distress 
known only to Masons, with very little difference be- 
tween it and Free Masonry of the present day. The 
Deity might have produced all the astonishing events of 
time in an instant, as well as in six days or six thousand 
years ; but Infinite wisdom has adopted a different 
course, he has communicated his ineffable mysteries to 
a chosen few, who were to be the faithful representatives 
of his name and uncreated glory through all coming 
time. The most profound system of science, morals and 
religion could only be understood by signs, symbols, 
emblems and , hierog^phics, and these not unfrequently 
appeared in the early ages of the world, of a character 
the most awfully grand, sublime and terrific ; sometimes 
in clouds, earthquakes, thunder, fire, storms and tem- 
pests, at others by a small still voice of the breathings 
of the spirit upon the soul, calling into lively exercise 
its loftiest aspirations in adoration and praise to the 
ever living God. Enoch was a prophet, highly favored 
of God, received those visible manifestations of the 
power, majesty and grandeur of the Eternal One with 
reverential awe and religious ceremony, and taught by 
the Almighty himself, carefully to conceal from the 
eyes of the vulgar and profane, the sublime mysteries 
committed to his care. He engraved them upon marble 
and brass pillars, deposited them one hundred feet deep 
on Mount Calvary, to guard against the rising flood that 
would soon sweep over the world, entombing everything 
that had life in one common grave, but Noah and his 
family. It was for this purpose, Enoch was directed by 
the Almighty to be thus careful and cautious in conceal- 
ing those Divine mysteries from a profane and idolatrous 
world, more than a thousand years before the flood, and 
they were discovered and brought to light by Masons 



74 MASONRY, PAST, 

nearly two thousand years afterwards. This is most 
remarkable, but no less so than true. 

Solomon — no one doubts of Solomon being a Mason- 
under the immediate inspiration of the Almighty, dis- 
covered the nine arches of Enoch, and read correctly 
their mysterious inscriptions, of such invaluable benefits 
to our race, which will be referred to hereafter, when we 
come to speak of the building of the temple ; but go where 
you will, the same mysterious symbols and emblems meet 
the eye, that attracted the gaze of the three Grand Masters 
at Jerusalem, subject to the same unalterable laws of 
interpretation ; having but one object in view, the 
glory of God and the good of his creatures, inva- 
riably referring to the most wonderful events that 
had ever transpired in the history of our world. 
It will be remembered that Enoch lived at a period when 
language, except to the few, was imperfect, the art of 
printing unknown, and nearly three thousand years be- 
fore a single word of the law was written by Moses ; 
and that a pure and holy spirit, as far as we know, can- 
not convey his thoughts to finite creatures in any other 
way than by symbols, emblems, or something of the kind. 
At all events, this was the only method, in the first ages 
of the world, that the Deity employed in communicating 
moral and religious instruction upon the most momen- 
tous subjects that ever engaged the attention of man. 
Refering to the unknown past, when light first dawned 
upon our world, and the great future, when all earthly 
labors will close, for this purpose the prophets and wise 
men were early called into being, who have faithfully act- 
ed their part upon the great theatre of life, and left to us, 
their regular descendants, an inheritance of which they 
were so richly endowed, with a positive injunction that 
we should inflexibly adhere to, and in all things be gov- 
erned by, these ancient landmarks of our faith. For this 
purpose they were so impressively kept a'ive amid the 
dark ages, where the light of Heaven was nearly extin- 
guished, and the nations of the earth had become idola- 
tors, these astounding realities have traveled steadily 



PEESENT AND FUTUEE. 75 

down the stream of time amid the convulsion of the 
world, unimpaired to the present day, with a degree of 
truthfulness no other institution ever possessed, and it 
was impossible for the masses of the people then, as 
now, to understand their sublime and holy teachings. 
What idea v can a stupid, ignorant person have of geom- 
etry, astronomy, the laws of nature, the motion of the 
heavenly bodies, the order, harmony, and government 
of the world ? What conception can he have of the 
most profound and sublime science ever communicated 
by an infinitely wise and Holy Being to our fallen world? 
Can he understand our mysterious language, or practice 
it if he could ? This would be perfectly beyond his con- 
ception or the utmost stretch of his intellect to conceive. 
Hence the Deity saw fit to adopt this rule of interpreta- 
tion when all other methods would fail, and it was to 
keep alive the knowledge of the true God and the rev- 
erence due to His name, that our forefathers never for a 
single moment lost sight of this object from the creation 
of tbe world to the present, because they were enstamp- 
ed upon the memory by the finger of the Almighty, in 
such a way that they could not fade or be obliterated. 
Let it be remembered this knowledge of Heavenly and 
Divine things, in the early ages of the world's history, 
was confined to the few taught in secret, and often under 
the most solemn obligations never to reveal it to any 
who were incapacitated to appreciate its real value. 
Plato says, give not holy things to unholy persons — 
Plato was a Mason, initiated into its mysteries, says Dr. 
Oliver, by Jeremiah the Prophet — and the Bible tells us, 
cast no t your pearls before swine, lest they turn and rend 
you. 

IS TRADITION OE OKAL COMMUNICATION MOEE EELIABLE 
THAN HISTORY? 

In many instances it is. The historian is not unfre- 
quently partial, garbling or concealing the truth, and 
absolutely impose upon the credulity of the world by 
their falsehoods and misrepresentations. This is imput- 



76 MASONRY, PAST, 

ed either to ignorance, or a direct intention to deceive. 
Where there is no written language until years after the 
events, tradition furnishes the historian with the facts 
and enters more minutely into details of the great events 
that have transpired. The Chinese have a tradition 
that the world has existed millions of years, and all the 
historians on earth, contradicting this belief, would have 
no effect, and it is impossible to convince them other- 
wise. Let the historian give a detailed account of the 
antiquity of that wonderful people and it would be a 
complete failure, because he could have no other data 
than their traditions ; and if he deviated from them it 
would be a falsehood. But, fortunately for us, the Holv 
Bible, the most ancient and authentic record in the 
world, agrees exactly with our traditions before the 
flood. And Moses, in giving a history of those events, in 
many instances has reiterated the very words we use in 
our lodges to-day. Some of the Indian tribes of North 
America can relate events that have occurred before this 
continent was discovered. They obtained this knowl- 
edge in the same way that Masons have of those won- 
derful events that have transpired in the early ages of 
the world, by oral communication kept alive by heaps of 
stone, marble monuments, pillars, and -mysterious in- 
scriptions, thousands of years before there was any 
written law, and it is impossible to convince the fraterni- 
ty that they did not transpire as our legends state, be- 
cause they are fully corroborated by the sacred historian, 
and such has been the truthfulness and accuracy in de- 
tail, and so fully established by the Mosaic account of 
creation, the fall of man, the death of the body and the 
immortality of the soul, the conclusion is as irresistible 
as the laws of light, that our legends and traditions are 
all true, so far as they relate to the elementary prin- 
ciples of our faith, and have been embodied into our 
work from the unknown periods of antiquity. No his- 
tory of the order thus traces further back, or can be more 
truthful, than our traditions and land-marks ; because 
this is the only foundation from which an ancient and 



PRESENT AKB EUTUKE. 77 

correct history can be written, and no historian of any 
note would hazard his reputation as a Masonic writer to 
pursue any other course. The ancient legends of the 
fraternity, principally sustained by the Holy Bible and 
the universal belief of all nations, are the materials 
which form our stately edifice. All others are spurious, 
and consequently rejected by the grand overseers of our 
work. It will not do to say our traditions are false ; be- 
cause in their mysterious relations many of them are a 
profound secret, and the world cannot understand them. 
But it will be said, Masonry cannot be of a Divine ori- 
gin, because it includes mysteries. True, the combined 
intellect of the universe cannot understand or have the 
faintest conception of the eternity, omniscience, omni- 
presence and omnipotence of the Deity, except what is 
revealed in the book of nature and the volume of inspir- 
ation. If this is untrue, then the whole system of the 
Jewish aad Christian religion falls, for they both, and 
the entire world, believe in the existence of God, though 
they cannot comprehend or explain the sublime myste- 
ries of eternity. Can we have any idea of God the 
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, three 
persons in one God? And does not the entire Christian 
world believe this, though it is one of the profoundest 
mysteries the human mind was ever called upon to con- 
template? If this is not true, then there is no religion 
in our world. Or is the fraternity and the church willing 
to take sides with the infidel, who has said, the bible is not 
true, and is not entitled to our belief, because it contains 
mysteries — where mystery begins, religion ends ? If this 
hypothesis is true, then where life begins, existence ends. 
Millions of worlds that roll through vast expanse are all 
mysterious and perfectly incomprehensible to finite minds, 
therefore they do not exist. This course of reasoning would 
prove that there is no religion, and no God, as far as we 
know. But do we not believe in the Son of God, before 
he left his home in heaven, being equal with the Father 
in his eternity, omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, 
his miraculous conception, life, miracles, death and res- 



78 MASONRY, PAST, 

urrection, and many other events recorded in the Holy 
Bible ot astounding, incomprehensible, and overwhelm- 
ing truths? The Jew and the Christian must believe 
these, or their foundation gives way, and the whole fab- 
ric falls. Bro. Scott, in his Analogy of Freemasonry 
with natural and revealed religion, p. 9, says of the book 
of Revelations : This figurative language has never 
been understood, for it contains the profouudest myste- 
ries. And does not every Christian coincide with this 
statement ? And the apostle, in writing to the Corinth- 
ians, 1 Cor., 2-10, says : But we speak the wisdom of 
God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God 
ordained before the world unto our glory. But as it is 
written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have 
entered into the heart of man the things which God hath 
prepared for them that love him. But God hath reveal- 
ed them unto us by his spirit, for the spirit searcheth 
all things, yea, the deep things of God. And stewards 
of the mystery of God. 1 Cor., 4 : 1. This em- 
inent apostle frequently spoke as though he thought he 
understood all mysteries and all knowledge, in writing 
to the Collosians, 1, 26, 27, says, we speak even the 
mysteries, which had been hid from ages, and from 
generations, but now is made manifest to his saints, to 
whom God would make known what is the rules of the 
glory of this mystery among the gentiles, which is 
Christ in you, the hope of glory. He will seek out the 
secret of grave sentences and be conversant in dark 
parables ; our Saviour frequently adopted the same an- 
cient and mysterious form of expression. All these 
things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables — 
parables, emblems and metaphors in the Holy Scriptures 
are frequently the same — and without a parable spake 
he not unto them, that it might be fulfilled which was 
spoken by the prophets, saying, I will open my mouth 
in parables, I will utter things which have been kept 
secret from the foundation of the world. Math. 13, 34, 35. 
Nothing, says Horn in his introduction of the Holy 
Scriptures, quoted by Bro. Scott in the Anology, p. 232, 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 79 

233, is so mysterious as the eternity and self existence 
of God, and yet to believe that God exists is the founda- 
tion of all religion ; above our reason, the attributes ot 
the Deity unquestionably are, for who can conceive what 
eternity is, a duration without succession of parts of 
time; how, indeed, can finite capacities like ours, com- 
prehend an infinite being, which Heaven, and Heavens 
of Heaven cannot contain ? Great was the mystery of 
Godliness; God was manifest in the flesh, (Paul) this 
stands supreme as the mystery of all mysteries ; those 
and a thousand other incontestible evidences are suffi- 
cient to show we are under the absolute necessity of 
believing what we cannot understand. 

But, is Masonry so singular and diverse from the 
church, when they both believe the same things, but it 
will be said the mysteries of the Holy Bible are a reve- 
lation from God: true, and as such Masonry receives 
them, as a rule and guide to our faith and practice ; 
never questioning their Divine authority or invalidating 
their testimony. But how, we ask, were these revela- 
tions understood by the world, nearly three thousand 
years before they were written, by tradition, the most 
faithful chronicle and true record of the age. That the 
order has existed from time immemorial, is not intro- 
duced here to immerse the ignorant or excite the atten- 
tion of the thoughtless, but is a sober reality. A few of 
the most eminent Masonic w T riters in the world can only 
be mentioned in confirmation of this remark, Rev. Geo. 
Oliver, D. D., author of the Historical Landmarks of 
Free Masonry; Hon. Albert Pike, Past Grand High 
Priest, of Arkansas; Hon. Giles Fund a Yates, Past Grand 
Commander of the N. S. C. of the 33d ; M. W. Wm. S. 
Rockwell, Grand Master of Georgia ; Michael Funnel, 
L. D., Provincial Grand Master, Ireland ; Robert Mor- 
ris, Antiquary Editor and Grand Lecturer, Kentucky ; 
W. P. Strickland, D. D., Past Deputy Grand High Priest 
of Ohio; Charles E. Blumentnal, M. D., Past Grand 
Master of the Knights Templar of Pennsylvania ; Hon. 
Charles Scott, Past Grand Master of Mississippi ; Finly 



80 MASOKRT, PAST, 

M. King, Senior Grand Warden, New York ; Hon. Ben- 
jamin li. French, Past Grand Master, Washington, D. 
C. ; Rev. Salem Town, L. L. I)., Grand Chaplain of the 
Royal Arch Chapter, New York; Rev. Aug. E. L. 
Arnold, Author of the Philosophical History of Free 
Masonry ; Hon. John L. Lewis, jr., Grand Master of 
New York ; John W. Simons, Past Grand Master of the 
Knights Templar, New York; John Dove, M. D., Grand 
Secretary of Virginia ; O. S. Sulivan, Grand Master of 
Missouri ; Harmon C. Reynolds, Grand Lecturer of Illi- 
nois ; David Ramsey, L. L. D., Senior Grand Warden 
of the Grand Lodge, South Carolina ; Albert C. Mackey, 
M. D., Author of Lexicon on Free Masonry ; Robt. T. 
Macoy, Author of our Manuals and many other valuable 
works. 

The testimony of such men, and a thousand others 
equally eminent, might be quoted, and would be taken 
in any court on oath, or in Heaven, and they all agree 
in asserting that the order has existed from time imme- 
morial ; that our language is principally symbolical; 
that the temple was built by Solomon — the glory of the 
Lord filled the house; that our religion is from God, 
because it is supported by the Holy Bible. If all of 
these do not establish the fact that Masonry is of a Di- 
vine origin, then there is no class of testimony in our 
world that can prove anything. It will be remembered 
by the fraternity that symbolism was the earliest and 
only records of the first ages of the world ; that we are 
in possession of the same wonderful events, in reference 
to the Deity and his works, unrecorded, and never would 
have been known if the order had not existed, is equally 
true. 



PRESENT AKD EtJTTTRE. 81 



CHAPTER V, 

Methuselah — Age of — Lamech an Eminent Mason of his day— Dr. 
Oliver's Opinion. 

METHUSELAB. 

He was tbe son of Enoch — nearly all the Masonic 
writers agree that Enoch was an eminent Mason — born 
in the year of the world six hundred and eighty-seven, 
and according to prophecies— see index, p. 643 — three 
thousand three hundred and seventeen years before 
Christ, five thousand one hundred and seventy-seven 
years ago. Moses, his historian, says — Gen. 5-27 — that 
Methuselah lived nine hundred and sixty-nine years, 
and is it possible that Enoch, his father, during all that 
time, should never have told his son anything of the 
wonderful discoveries he had made in morals, science 
and religion, and the laws by which the Deity governs 
the world ; that a deluge of water would sweep over the 
•earth and destroy all things that had life — is it possible 
that Enoch kept all these things a profound secret from 
his son, who had already been inspired by the Almighty 
and warned of the approaching deluge, and directed him 
to build those Masonic arches and pillars, inscribing 
upon them those sublime mysteries and the ineffable 
name of God, that was so miraculously discovered by 
Solomon, the Hebrew monarch, nearly two thousand 
years afterwards ? If all this were possible it would re- 
quire a greater amount of evidence to reject it than to 
believe that he often held a private consultation 
with his father in reference to the most momentous 
event that had ever transpired in our world, no less than 
the destructton of the entire race, (except eight souls.) 
The fact is, Methuselah was cotemporary with Adam, 
and understood distinctly what the progenitor of our race 
meant by those sublime prophecies veiled in allegory and 
illustrated by symbols which had been entrusted to his 
6 



82 MASONRY, PAST, 

care by his father, Enoch. He must have been profoundly 
versed in all the symbolical signs and wonders of liis day. 
His great age enabled him to obtain a vast amount of knowl- 
edge derived wholly from tradition and oral communica- 
tion, relating to the great events of the world down to 
his time, and that his divine mission was tosee to it that 
those sublime mysteries should be transmitted with the 
most scrupulous care to his children, that his son La- 
ntech, and his grand-son, Noah, might govern themselves 
accordingly, when the deluge shall come. 

Dr. Oliver, b. 1, p. 39, says Methuselah was cotempe- 
rai - 3 T with both Adam and Noah, and it is therefore im- 
possible, he continues, to doubt that the record of facts 
which ascend in tbe early ages of the world would be 
accurately transmitted, for there yas only one link be- 
tween the first and the last man of the old world ; and, 
continues this Kev. Divine, b. 1, p. 49, note 42, this is 
an important consideration, because a tradition would 
have little chance of pervertion, by passing through the 
hands of one single person only, from Adam to Noah. 
Is it possible Methuselah could be ignorant of what his 
grand son, Noah, was doing for one hundred and twenty 
years in building the Ark, and lived until it was finish- 
ed, probably, with Adam, on Mount Moriah, or in 
its immediate vicinity, until one thousand six hundred 
and fifty-six, the same year of the deluge, and died, per- 
haps, but a tew hours before the fountains of the great 
deep were broken up, and the rains began to descend, 
and the conclusion, to our mind, is as irresistible as the 
laws of light, that Masonry existed in some organized 
form, though it is unknown exactly what it was, more 
than a thousand years before this time; certain it is that 
all great events were communicated orally, from one 
generation to another, preserved and handed down wiih 
the most scrupulous care, and this is all, Masonry, the 
Church or the World, can depend upon, before there 
was any written language. 

Lamech, an eminent Mason of his day, held a prom- 
inent place in the history of events, and intimately con- 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 83 

nected with the thread of our narrative, and to whom 
a knowledge ot the divine mysteries were committed, 
descending in a direct and uninterrupted line from 
Adam, without the possibility of changes ; he was well 
acquainted with the history of the world, the great 
events that had transpired, and saw distinctly what 
would take place in the overwhelming flood, like a del- 
uge of wrath that was soon to sweep over the world, he 
understood much of these divine mysteries, which the 
Holy one had so often communicated to him, taught 
them by Methuselah, his iather, orally, and made him 
understand distinctly these sublime realities which he 
had received, and these were to be transmitted through 
all coming time, in the same way, by signs, symbols and 
emblems. Lamech was born in the year of the world, 
eight hundred and seventy-four-Josephus,index, p. 643 — 
and before our Saviour, three thousand one hundred and 
thirty, and four thousand nine hundred and ninety years 
ago, and died only five years before the flood, Bible 
Dictionary, p. 382. Is it possible he should have for- 
gotten or misunderstood what Lis father, Methuselah, 
had told him, and failed to communicate this knowledge 
to his son Noah, especially as the end of all things was 
drawing nigh, and he beheld with his own eyes the mys- 
teries and wonderful preparation his son was making in 
the building of the Ark, which was nearly completed? 
Dr. Oliver b. 2. p. 131, says that Enoch placed the gov- 
ernment of Free Masonry in the hands of his grand-son 
Lamech, and received the reward of his fidelity by be- 
ing removed at once to the realms of everlasting light. 
Lamech, the grand master, was equally unable to work 
a salutary reform in the corrupted manners of the world, 
and therefore resigned his office into the hands of Noah. 
This language of the Rev. Doctor is plain, explicit, 
and unequivocal. If he had said Lamech had entrusted 
the sciences of the world to his care, which must faith- 
fully be preserved and transmitted after the flood, to a 
new race that would rise up and people the earth, that 
the arts and sciences, and a knowledge of the true God, 



84 MAS0NKY, PAST, 

must be preserved, notwithstanding the flood, that gen- 
erations unborn, might know his only true name, wor- 
ship and adore him as God over all ; this would have 
been all true, and has been demonstrated to the very 
letter, by the Fraternity in all ages since that awful 
event, but when the Doctor qualifies the expression by 
the word Freemasonry, it means something more than 
a general knowledge of the world's history, though this 
is a part of Masonry, and held 6acred by the fraternity 
in all ages ; yet it is not all that is included in that sim- 
ple and mysterious word ; it is not all we have received 
and been taught by our forefathers, and which we are 
to guard with such scrupulous care, through all coming 
time ; but it means the great antiquity of the order 
which certainly did exist, in some form, before the flood, 
that an universal Brotherhood was organized, held to- 
gether by the most sacred and indissoluble ties, pecu- 
liar to themselves while at work, and used as signs of 
recognition when traveling abroad over the earth, after 
the waters should subside. That there w r as something 
more in the term Freemasonry, understood distinctly by 
Dr. Oliver, which has never met the prying gaze of the 
world, and will forever baffle the ingenuity of the inquisi- 
tive to understand, when he informs us that Lamech 
was a Freemason, and a grand master of the order ; 
that there was something never understood and practiced 
by the learned and devoutly pious before the flood, who 
had been taught of God by the most awful and sublime 
ceremonies, and impressed upon the mind with a moral 
power that never could be effaced or forgotten. There 
was something more in the Freemasonry of this age, 
when the world was young, than a mere casual glance 
at the works of creation ; these are awfully grand, ter- 
rific and overwhelming to the soul, exhibiting the pow- 
er and majesty of the Supreme Architect of the universe, 
unfolding the beauty, order and harmony of the world, 
and the unalterable laws by which all things are controll- 
ed, there was something more in the Freemasonry of 
antediluvian times than a knowledge of the arts and 



PRESENT AKD FUTURE. 85 

sciences, geometry and astronomy, these were no secreta, 
all might understand their principles, if they could, and 
had intellect enough to comprehend ; but the peculiar 
manner in connecting these sciences with the first great 
cause, was always taught in secret, and never could be 
divulged, neither can it be now, though the leading ele- 
ments of the order have been given to the world; we 
invite investigation, and welcome its most scrutinizing 
test. We have already been thrown into the furnace, 
and no other Order has ever passed, or can ever pass 
through such an ordeal and Jive, and we are brighter 
to-day, from this fiery crucible, hot, seven times hotter 
than it was wont to be, and we are better prepared than 
we ever have been, as a strong man to run a race. But 
in the period to which we refer, the world was drowned, 
and still Masonry lives. And there was a sublime and 
holy mystery committed to the charge of our forefathers, 
before the flood, which was never known to the world, 
and never can be. These Lamech understood distinctly, 
and taught them carefully, by the most solemn injunc- 
tions, to Noah, his son, knowing it was the only way by 
which a knowledge of the true God coald be preserved 
in the dark and idolatrous ages, that would succeed the 
destruction of our race by the flood, and this is what Dr. 
Oliver means by saying Lamech was a Freemason, and 
all Masonic writers agree that this was primative Ma- 
sonry in the first ages of the world, by whatever name 
it might be called. Thus we have briefly and hurriedly 
followed the light and tread the footsteps of the Order, 
as held sacred by our forefathers amid the dark and be- 
wildering obscurities of the past, who marched steadily 
down the stream of time, undismayed by the angry 
billows that were rising up before them, or the howling 
tempest raging above them, keeping constantly in view 
the great object of their mission, of peace on earth and 
good will to man ; believing in the same God, worship- 
ing at the same holy altar, inflexibly adhering to the 
some mysterious symbolical language which, in a single 
instance, has never varied by whatever tribe or nation it 



86 MASONRY, PAST, 

might be spoken, acknowledging the full force of mira- 
cles and prophecies, often clothed in the most awful and 
terrific wonders, but always full of meaning of the most 
momentous kind to the few who could understand what 
the Deity meant when he spoke to them through the 
cloud ; the storm and the tempest, the effulgent bright- 
ness of his glory increasing as his frail creatures ap- 
proached nearer and nearer to Him, when, if they were 
duly and truly prepared, they could see the Sbekinah 
and converse with Him face to face, though clouds and 
darkness are round about His throne. Bnt the idolatry 
and extreme wickedness of the world called down the 
vengeance of Heaven, and with one blighting, wither- 
ing curse, the Almighty swept them from the face of 
the earth. Still His word and His mysterious name was 
preserved amid the general wreck, and is known and 
held sacred by the Fraternity throughout the world. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Noah — The ark — The flood — The mysteries of Masonry preserved — 
The flood, when — The ark rests, where. 

NOAH — THE ARK — THE FLOOD — THE MYSTERIES OF MASONRY 
PRESERVED. 

Noah was the son of Lamech, born in the year of the 
world 1056, 2948 years before Christ — see Josephus, In- 
dex, p. 643 — 4808 years ago. To Noah was intrusted 
a knowledge of the sublime mysteries ; and — one of the 
most remarkable events that has ever transpired in our 
world — the Deity appeared and informed him, in lan- 
guage that could not be misunderstood, that not a soul 
of the whole human race should be found alive bnt him- 
self and family, and directed this God like man to make 
all diligence in preparing for this awful calamity. Here 
this holy man of God stood firmly upon a point between 
two worlds; the past was receding from his view, with 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 87 

all of its glory and grandeur, and a boundless, unknown 
future opening before him. He was to be the progeni- 
tor and representative of a new race. The symbolical 
language, the sublime and holy teachings he had re- 
ceived, together with the occult and mysterious name 
of the Deity must be preserved and faithfully transmit- 
ted to the generations that should come after him, not 
to vary in a single letter, word or syllable ; and that 
Divine and Holy Being, after giving him this oral in- 
struction, from which he must never depart, left him to 
his own deep thoughts and profound meditations. But 
Noah rose immediately and commenced the labors as- 
signed him, with a trust in God and a full assurance 
that that which was committed to his care would not be 
lost. And where, we would ask, do the fraternity get 
their knowledge of those mysterious events that were so 
miraculously preserved after the flood, and particularly 
that sacred name of the Deity, if it was not preserved 
bv Noah, and so carefully handed down to his posterity ? 
Certainly, the order has never made or invented any- 
thing of the kind. This would sink it to the level of 
human institutions, which will flourish for a while and 
soon pass away and be numbered only with the days 
that have been. But Masonry, in all of her elements, is 
of a very different character, having God for its author 
and eternity for its home. As 1 live, saith the Lord, 
those who venerate my name shall live also ; but if God 
dies, my brethren, no matter what becomes of us. 

THE ARK. 

At what particular place it was built, is unknown — 
neither is it very material — but is used in our lodges for 
a very important purpose. It was four hundred and 
fifty feet long, seventy-five wide and forty-five hijih, 
made of gopher wood, and lined with pitch, designed to 
float, not to sail, an oblong square — The brethren will 
recollect this was the exact model of the Tabernacle and 
Solomon's Temple, and that Infinite Wisdom designed 
and constructed each of them. The Bible Dictionary, 



88 MASOtfRY, PAST, 

p. 03, says: a decree of pkill in its construction is an ev- 
idence of its Divine origin. After the most accurate 
computations of those best versed in ship building, it is 
found that the vessel, in all it known parts and propor- 
tions, is in perfect accordance with the received opinions 
of naval architecture, and there can be no doubt there- 
fore, that the ark was built on strictly scientific princi- 
ples, and was proportioned with mathematical precision 
to its contents — see also Gen. 6-16. The truths recorded 
by the sacred historians in reference to the Ark have 
never been doubted by the Jewish or Christian Masons. 
And the fraternity, as far as the author has been enabled 
to ascertain, look upon this whole scene as a stupendous 
miracle. The appearance of strange animals, unknown 
to the inhabitants ot the earth in the vicinity of the ark, 
the elephant, the tiger, the lion, and the lamb, lying 
down together, waiting with perfect composure until the 
ark should be finished, and the alarm given that the end 
of all things was at hand. These, with a thousand other 
6trange and mysterious occurences, made it one of the 
most awfully sublime and incomprehensible events that 
has ever transpired in our world. To Noah was intrust- 
ed, through a long roll of ages, handed down by tradi- 
tion, and particularly impressed upon his mind by La- 
mech, his father, all the sciences, literature, morals and 
religion that were necessary to people a new race. To 
him were given the ineffable mysteries of the Divine 
Being, which had been so signally preserved amid the 
convulsions of the world, and all the changing vicisi- 
tudes of life ; and that he was commanded to be faithful 
and communicate to his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japhet, 
the Omnific word by which all things were made, when 
the world they then inhabited would be overwhelmed in 
ruins, pass away, be forgotten, and the dark waves of 
oblivion forever roll its death tide of woe over the migh- 
ty past. If Noah had been swept away by the deluge, 
and never transmitted these Divine mysteries to his sons, 
still they would have been preserved, as they were actu- 
ally fouud by Solomon nearly two thousand years after- 



PRESENT AND JUTURE. 89 

wards, inscribed upon the pillars erected by Seth in the 
land of Sirad, (Upper Egypt), and the nine arches built 
by Enoch, and the Pyramids which scientific research 
within a few years has demonstrated them to be Masonic, 
and some of them, as before remarked, were certainly 
built before the flood. It would appear the Deity used 
the utmost caution to guard against these sublime mys- 
teries being lost. Had it not been for this, the world 
would have had to commence anew to learn geometry, 
astronomy, arithmetic, natural and repealed religion, 
and all the sciences relating to the laws by which the 
Deity governs the world. What an inestimable treas- 
sure was committed to Noah's charge; but he, true to 
the trust and the God who made him, who had saved 
him alive, where everything else had perished, commu- 
nicated his wonderful discovery to his sons. And the 
fraternity has incontestible evidence that the momentous 
truths, so dear to every Mason, were faithfully transmit- 
ted in some mysterious way, though the exact method 
is unknown, except it was by tradition and oral com- 
munication. And we are the regular descendants and 
recipients of this inestimable treasure lodged in the re- 
pository of faithful breasts. All that Masonry claims in 
this connection is, we are in possession ot the same 
symbolical language spoken in the early age of the 
world, and for the same moral and religious purpose, 
never turning to the right or the left, or deviating in a 
single letter from the instruction w T e have received from 
our forefathers. The study of the landmarks, says Dr. 
Oliver, b. 1, p. 195, carry us back to the most remote 
antiquity. It makes us acquainted with the habirs and 
customs of those holy men, who worshiped God in 
spirit and in truth, and practiced the Divine precepts 
which were first delivered to Adam. The same wei'e 
faithfully renewed to Noah, and were transmitted to his 
posterity and were preserved amongst the pious patri- 
archs from whom our landmarks are derived, in con- 
templation therefore of this inconceivable basis of our 
system. We find ourselves in company with Adam, 



90 MASONRY, PAST, 

Seth, Enoch, Methuselah and Noah, in the old world ; 
we participate in their virtues, and lament over the 
apostacy of their children and descendants. We join 
in the celestial anthems of the holy race of Mount 
Moriah, or penetrate into the bowels of the earth with 
Enoch, the beloved ot God ; we listen to the preaching 
of Noah, and witness the excellency of operative Ma- 
sonry in the construction of the ark; we beheld the 
great convulsions ot nature which the wrath of a justly 
incensed God brought upon the earth and its protected 
inhabitants ; we hear the contention of the angry ele- 
ments ; we contemplate with awe and deep reverence 
the dead silence that succeeds when the roar of the 
tempest ceases and the whole globe is immersed in its 
deep waters ; we see the Holy family quit their prisons 
and emerge into the balmy air, expressing their grati- 
tude by an evening sacrifice. 

THE FLOOD. 

It occurred in the year of the world 1656, 2348 years 
before Christ, and 4208 years ago, in the six hundredth 
year of Noah's life, between the middle of October and 
the middle of November. The waters began to fall, (see 
Bible Dictionar} T , p. 257,) the clouds from above de- 
scended in overwhelming torrents, the fountains of the 
great deep were broken up ; so that at the end of forty 
days the highest elevation upon the face of the earth 
was fifteen cubits (22* feet) under water, and the waters 
prevailed or increased continually for one hundred and 
fifty days. (See Gen., Chap. 7.) 

Has Masonry nothing to do with these astounding re- 
alities ? Are the following emblems, used in all our 
lodges, unmeaning — only calculated to mislead and de- 
ceive % 

THE ANCHOR AND ARK 

Are emblems of a well-grounded hope and a well spent 
life. They are emblematical of that divine ark which 
safely bears us over this tempestuous sea of troubles, 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 91 

and that anchor which shall safely moor ns in a peaceful 
harbor, where the wicked cease from troubling and the 
weary shall find rest. 

Is there any point in the universe beyond heaven as a 
place ot rest ? If there is not, then we are right in 
claiming that Masonry and religion are the same. 

v WHERE DID THE ARK REST ? 

It floated proudly over the rising billows and rested 
on the mountain of Ararat. Gen., 8 : 4. This mountain 
is in the northeastern part of Armenia, an inland coun- 
try, at the eastern extremity of Asia Minor, four hun- 
dred miles from east to west, and about three hundred 
miles from north to south, bounded by the Mediterra- 
nean on the south, the Black Sea on the north-west, and 
the Caspian Sea on the east. The Euphrates, Tigris, 
and other rivers rise within its boundaries. This coun- 
try is divided into fifteen provinces, of which the central 
one is called Ararat. In this province is the mountain 
where the ark rested, and it is about six hundred miles 
northeast from Jerusalem. See Goodrich's Pictorial 
History of all Nations, p. 136. There are two peaks of 
Ararat, about seven miles apart, the highest of which, 
says a French traveler, is sixteen thousand feet above 
the level of the sea, and is covered with perpetual snow. 
This awful monument of the antediluvian world, this 
stupendous link in the history of our race, before and 
since the flood, once the population of the whole wide 
world, was occupied by one small family of eight souls. 
Here the Bow of the Covenant was set, and here was 
erected the first holy altar after the dreadful catastro- 
phe. The immediate vicinity of this mountain is at 
present inhabited by the Koords, a savage tribe of Mo- 
hammedans, and since the last war between Russia and 
Persia, the Russian boundaries have been extended so 
as to embrace Ararat; and now, Russia, Persia and 
Turkey meet at this mountain. Noah and his family 
journied from west to east — a phrase peculiar to every 
Master Mason. 



92 MASONRY, PAST, 

This peculiar Masonic phrase is confirmed by the an- 
cient history of the Jews. All this mountain, the re- 
mains, the descent of the holy family, says Joseph us, 
b. 1. p. 28, are showed to the traveler by the inhabitants 
to this day; he further states that all the writers of 
Babylonian history make mention of this flood, and of 
this ark, among whom is Berossus, for when he was des- 
cribing the circumstance of the flood, sayi there is still 
some parts of the ship in Armenia, at the mountain 
Cordeanus, and some people tear off pieces of bitumen, 
which they carry away. Abraham visited Ararat in 
his day. We have been thus particular in giving a 
short geographical sketch of this wonderful mountain 
where the ark rested, because it is the connecting link 
between the old and the new world, between the gener- 
ations of the past and the future, and all that is great, 
grand or glorious in Masonry, morals and religion, was, 
concentrated upon this hallowed mountain — it will be 
remembered our ancient brethren used to meet upon 
the highest hills, and in the lowest vales. And from 
this lunely spot the sublime mysteries Noah had receiv- 
ed by immediate inspiration from the Almighty, were 
transmitted by his sons, and their immediate descend- 
ants, through all coming time. Bro. Mackey, in his 
Lexicon of Free Masonry, p. 3±-5, after speaking of the 
effects of the flood, says: To iNoah, however, God was 
merciful, and to this patriarch, and to his posterity, was 
to be entrusted a knowledge of the true God. But on 
the plains of bhinah, mau again revolted, and as a pun- 
ishment for their rebellion, at the lofty tower of Babel, 
language was confounded, and Masonry nearly lost, for 
Masonry, then as now, consisted in a knowledge that 
there is but one God, and that the soul is immortal. 
The patriarch, however, was saved from the general 
moral destruction, and still preserved true Masonry, or 
a knowledge of those dogmas in the patriarchal line; 
the philosophers and sages retained some traces of those 
great doctrines of Masonry, the Unity of God, and the 
immortality of the soul. But these doctrines they dared 



PRESENT AND FUTUBE. 93 

not teach in public, for history records the fate of such 
temerity, when it informs us that Socrates paid the for- 
feiture of his life for his boldness in propagating or pro- 
claiming these Masonic truths to the Athenian youths. 
They therefore taught in secret what they were afraid to 
inculcate in public, and for this purpose established the 
ancient mysteries, those truly Masonic institutions, which 
by a series of solemn and imposing ceremonies, prepar- 
ed the mind of the initiate, tor the reception of those 
unpopular dogmas, which, by the caution exercised in 
the selection of candidates, and the obligation of secresy 
imposed upon them. The teachers were secured from 
the dangers of popular bigotry and fanatacism. Their 
members went through a secret ceremony of initiation 
by which they were entitled to a full participation in 
the esoteric knowledge of the order, and were in posses- 
sion of certain modes of recognition, known only to 
themselves. This is high authority, and no Masonic 
writer of any note, has ever doubted the accuracy of 
Bro. Mackey's views, which have been g'Ven to the 
world in the various works of this indefatigable student, 
and if this does not prove that Masonry was transmitted 
by Noah and his descendants, there is no language or 
evidence that can prove anything; and this was more 
than a thousand years before Solomon's day, when lan- 
guage was confounded, and a few of those ancient wor- 
thies, who had not fallen into the general corruption and 
idolatry of the times, divided themselves into clans and 
tribes, and traded and traveled east, west and south in 
search of a: country where they might practice those 
sublime mysteries they had received from Noah, the 
progenitor of a new race, undisturbed by the descend- 
ants of Ham, who had fallen into the system of spuri- 
ous Masonry, though retaining some of the elements 
of the genuine Masonry. Shem, Ham and Japhet, 
the sons of Noah, were born about one hundred years 
before the flood. Josephus, b. 1, chap. 4, p. 29, says, 
they first settled in the Plains of Shinah — also see Gen. 
10, 10. This is an extensive plain, lying between Meso- 



94 MASONRY, PAST, 

potamia, on the west, and Persia, on the east, and 
watered by the Euphrates. It was upon this plain that 
the posterity of Noah attempted to build the Tower of 
Babel, and here was the site of the great city of Baby- 
lon. See Daniel, 1, 2. From Shem descended the Jews, 
and through them the Messiah. Shem had five sons, 
who inhabited the finest portions of the East. The lan- 
guage of these nations is still called the Shemitish, 
including the Hebrew, Chaldea, Syric, and Ethiopia 
Bible Dictionary, p. 573. This splendid ruin of magnifi- 
cent grandeur is an item in history, and intimately 
connected with Masonry, in those early ages, and ac- 
cording to the best authorities, Babel was built about 
three hundred years after the flood to serve as a national 
rallying point, to secure their union and concentrate 
their national interests and prevent their dispersion. 
Their design appeared to be that the whole world should 
become one vast kingdom, and that Bibel should be its 
capital and chief city. Chronology, and other authen- 
tic sources, supposed they were employed three years in 
collecting the materials, and twenty two years upon the 
building. An ancient tradition tells us that the bricks, 
or blocks, were twenty feet long, fifteen feet broad and 
seveu feet thick. Capt. Mignan visited a mound on the 
east bank of the Euphrates, about four miles and a half 
from modern Hillah, in the Pashalie ot Bagdad — it is 
called by the natives the overturned — he describes it as 
avast oblong square. He further says: this must be 
the ruins of the ancient Tower of Babel, and Major 
Ronnel, the distinguished geographer, is of the same 
opinion. A French traveler, who visited these splendid 
ruins, in 1779, says it is a mass of splendid ruins, built 
of brick dried in the sun. But it has been thought by 
many eminent writers, tjiat the tower in the Temple of 
Belus, in the vicinity of Babylon, is absolutely the Tower 
of Babel. If this opinion be correct, then we have the 
opinion of Herodotus as to its dimensions. He tells us 
it was an oblong square — has this phrase no meaning in 
our lodges ? — built in the form of a pyramid, each side 



PRESENT AKD FUTURE. 95 

of which measured a furlong, (40 rods,) making the 
whole structure a half a mile in circumference, and its 
Light was six hundred and sixty feet higher than any of 
the Egyptian pyramids. Winding stairs led from the 
bottom to the top of the outside, sufficiently broad for 
carriages to pass each other. It contained many mag- 
nificent and spacious rooms, which were a part of the 
Tower. After it was converted into the purpose of idol- 
atry, it was greatly enlarged by Nebuchadnezzar. This, 
says a modern traveler, is the most splendid ruins of all 
the remains in Babylon. It is about six miles south- 
west of Hillah, and is called by the Jews, Nebuchad- 
nezzar's prison. The evidences that 'there once existed 
on this spot a magnificent pile of building, of the richest, 
most expensive and durable materials, and that it was 
destroyed by violence, is perfectly conclusive and con- 
firmed by all travelers who have visited that region. 
See this subject much enlarged, Bible Dictionary, p. 86. 
Here, too, amid those vast ruins, have recently been dis- 
covered the most splendid Masonic engravings the world 
ever saw. "We have occupied more space than we in- 
tended, but Masonry has much to do with the building 
of this tower, Babylon, and its final destruction. But, 
says the Almighty, Gen. 11, 7, 8, 9, — Let us go down 
and there confound their language, that they may not 
understand each other's speech. So the Lord scattered 
them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth, 
and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name 
of it called Babel, because the Lord did there confound 
the language of all the earth, and from thence did the 
Lord scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth. 
Bui genuine Masonry suffered but little in this wild and 
tumultuous confusion of tongues, in this general wreck 
of rerrific alarm. Her traditions, so faithfully transmit- 
ted, were from God. The symbols of the order were 
kept steadily, by the most impressive ceremonies, be- 
fore the mind in the old world, and shone with such 
increased brightness in the new, inculcating the same 
mysterious and deeply interesting truths. This the fra- 



96 MASOHRY, PAST) 

ternity regards as a striking evidence of the superin* 
tending care of Divine Providence. It would appear 
that the Deity used the utmost caution to guard against 
casualties, though unseen by mortal eyes, that his name 
should not be effaced or obliterated from the minds of 
the faithful ; and, truly, this appears to us remarkable, 
and can be accounted for in no other way than that the 
mysterious language of the order is always the same. 
Dr. Oliver, b. 1., p. 201, says : The transactions on the 
plains of Shinar disgusted Noah, and drove him east- 
ward, where he established the empires of China and 
India. At Babel, the Almighty confounded the universal 
language of mankind and split it into dialects, and expell- 
ed the multitudes which crowded these extensive plains 
in separate companies, according to the several tongues 
which were now imparted to them to people the distant 
quarters of the globe, each leading a tribe, being settled 
in a chosen spot, founded his system of religion, laws 
and jurisprudence, on the plan which was in general 
use before mankind were separated, and hence the simi- 
larity of religious worship, its mysteries, and all the 
usages thereunto attached, which are found to exist in 
every part of the habitable globe, and this is the reason 
why the order spread so rapidly throughout the Eastern 
Empire. Dr. Oliver, b. 1, p. 51, note 54, says : Some- 
time after the confusion, Nimrod began to establish de- 
grees of rank among his subjects which had not existed 
before. He built the city of Babylon, and arrogated to 
himself the honors of divine worship. It was on the 
night of the full moon, in the month of March, that God 
confounded their language, and the Noachites held their 
great meetings on this particular night, and their com- 
mon monthly meetings were only held when the moon 
was at full, and they used no other light in their lodges 
and chapters, held their regular communications, on or 
before the full moon in each month. But, it will be 
asked, how was Masonic tradition preserved amid the 
dark ages of heathenism and the corrupting influences 
of idolatry? In the same way that any great event can 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 97 

go down to the world before language was written ; our 
own revolution of 1776 would have been faithfully trans- 
mitted, if no written history had been made, by heaps 
of stone, monuments, celebrations, etc., but more par- 
ticularly has the great truths of our holy religion been 
enstamped upon the hearts of the fraternity, by the im- 
press of the Almighty, this will tell the simple story 
forever ; so has Masonry, from the earliest ages of the 
world's history, been inscribed upon heaps of stone, pil- 
lars, arches, marble and brass monuments, equally true 
and impressive. But the records of a nation's greatness 
may be destroyed, her government overthrown, and the 
glory of her empire depart forever ; brass and marble 
monuments have crumbled into ruins, but Masonry has 
survived where every human institution has perished. 

Previous to this overwhelming calamity there was 
but one language and speech, Gen. 11, 1. It is the 
opinion of the learned that the Hebrew was the first, 
given by the Almighty to Adam, and that all others are 
derived from it, and this was the language of the whole 
earth for nearly two thousand years, until it was con- 
founded at the building of the tower of Babel. Bible 
Dictionary, p. 394. 



CHAPTER YII. 

Masonry suffered but little in the confusion, of languages — A univer- 
sal language restored — "What Abram alluded to — Jacob mentioned, 

DID MASONRY SUFFER IN THIS GENERAL CONFUSION OF 

LANGUAGES. ? 

Very little, in comparison with others, though our 
ancient brethren were confounded and scattered abroad 
over the face of the whole earth. Yet their work went 
silently and steadily forward. The principles and prac- 
tices of the order, through the medium of emblems and 
symbolical language, has come down to us pure and uu- 
7 



98 MASONRY, PAST, 

contaminated, amid the convulsions of the world, that 
have swept like a deluge of wrath over the proudest 
monuments of Egyptian glory. And Babylon, Balbec, 
Palmyra, and a thousand other ancient cities, have gone 
down, and the waves of oblivion rolled their ceaseless 
tide over them, yet Masonry escaped the overwhelming 
ruin. Waked, as by an impulse from the Almighty, 
6he has started from the grave of nations, emerged into 
light, and is now at work in every part of the globe ior 
the benefit of our race. 

IF A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE SHOULD AS SUDDENLY BE RE- 
STORED AS IT WAS CONFOUNDED, WHAT WOULD BE THE 



EFFECT UPON THE ORDER S 



Nearly the same confusion among the generations of 
man would prevail. The nations of the earth would 
have to begin anew in all the departments of life, sci- 
ence, literature, the arts, jurisprudence, morals and reli- 
gion, public and private records, constitutions, human 
and divine laws, commercial intercourse among nations, 
all would be unmeaning and incomprehensible, and 
must be learned over again. This state of things, for a 
few years certainly, would entail upon our world almost 
as great a confusion as ever prevailed at the tower ot 
Babel. But Masonry would not be subject to this ca- 
lamity to the same extent as others. Her elementary 
principles ot morals and religion, the method of instruc- 
tion in the arts and sciences, by emblems and symbols, 
is the same as it was before the flood. They have never 
varied, no matter in what nation or language they are 
found and practiced. Our existence does not depend 
upon any written language. We can live without it, as 
we have done thousands of years before there was any 
written law. We could open and close a lodge, and 
perform a considerable portion of the works without a 
word being spoken, having learned these mysteries from 
our forefathers, calling into existence the deepest emo- 
tions of the soul, expressive of moral and religious du- 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 99 

ties to God and our fellow men.. And we shall continue 
the same methods of instruction to the end of the worjd, 
and I know of no event that can deprive U3 of this priv- 
ilege, unless the inhabitants of the earth should be 
struck dumb. Even then we could recognize each other 
as a band of brothers wherever we might travel. And 
we fear nothing but chaos, that might sweep over the 
world, when all earthly grandeur would perish. 

La Monds, a French traveler who had recently visited 
Joppa, says : To the author, it is almost worth a jour- 
ney across the globe to witness our brethren there work 
through the third degree. Here were men of different 
nations and languages, who could not understand a 
word that was spoken, and yet comprehended every 
part of the ceremony, which was ancient, grand and im- 
posing. The same remark is exemplified by travelers 
who have visited Jerusalem within a few years. But 
do not the different languages and dialects of the earth 
present a serious difficulty in performing some parts of 
the work in the lodge room % Not in the least, because 
our symbols never vary or mean anything else. Rev. 
Salem Town, chaplain of the Grand Chapter of Royal 
Arch Masons of the State of New York, Spe. Masonry, 
p. 154, says : The very same word, with the manner of 
pronouncing it, has been religiously observed in the 
Masonic institution in every age and country to the 
present day. This is certainly a religious and sublime 
ceremony, which has come down to us from the earliest 
ages of antiquity, and can never be misunderstood by 
any one who has been initiated into the mysteries ot the 
order. But there are other events and characters inti- 
mately connected with the history of the fraternity, who 
have marched so steadily and triumphantly down the 
stream of time, undismayed by the howling tempest or 
the convulsions of the world, we must be permitted 
briefly to mention : 

ABRAHAM. 

An allusion is often made to this illustrious individu- 



100 MASOKKT, PAST, 

al, in our work. A holy man of God, endowed with 
supernatural powers, deeply versed in the history of the 
past, and understood distinctly many great events of the 
future. He was the son ol Terah, and born at Ur, a 
city of the Chaldees, about A. M., 2093. Josephus, b. 
1, chap. 7, p. 32, says : he communicated to the Egypt- 
ians arithmetic and astronomy. But these sciences were 
known in Egypt long before Abraham's day, though he did 
much to reduce them to a practical system. God direct- 
ed him to leave his country and kindred and go to a land 
(Mount Moriah) which should be shown him, promising 
at the same time, to make of him a great nation, and to 
bless him, and to make his name great. Arriving at 
Sichem, in Mesopotamia, a country lying between the 
Tigris and the Euphrates. Here he built an altar and 
offered sacrifices to God. But the most affecting scene, 
and important event of his life, was his offering up his 
son Isaac upon Mount Moriah. This "was designed to 
keep steadily before the mind two important events : 
1st, An illustrious example of the power of faith ; and 
2d, Pointing to the propitiatory sacrifice that would be 
made by the Son of God on the holy mountain, for the 
sins of the world, more than a thousand years after- 
wards. This scene is not only recognized, but cheer- 
fully believed in by the fraternity throughout the world. 
Isaac, connected with this mysterious and overwhelming 
event, was the son of Abraham and Sarah, born in the year 
of world, 2108, and was made, by express command, the 
ancestor of the promised Messiah. He married Rebekah 
the daughter of Bethuel, and by her became the father 
of Jacob and Esau. His possessions were immense, see 
Gen. 26 : 12, 13, 14. He died at Hebron, the place 
where John the Baptist was born. It was the residence 
of David until Jerusalem was made the capital — Bible 
D., p. 305. Hebron is one of the most ancient cities of 
Judea^ situated on an eminence, about thirty miles south 
of Jerusalem. It is associated with some of the most 
remarkable events and interesting passages of Jewish 
history, at one time the residence of Jacob. Abraham 



PRESENT AHD FUTURE. 101 

abode in this city, and here his farm remains to this day, 
from which we learn what has recently been imported 
into the United States. Mr. Fish and Whitney, Ameri- 
can missionaries, visited Hebron in 1824, and in 1835. 
Mr. Whitney was at the field of Machpelah, where the 
wife of Abraham was buried. It is situated on a high hill 
sloping westward, from the summit of which is a beau- 
tiful view of the Plains of Mamre, where has been 
erected a splendid temple by the mother of Constantine — 
as far as we can learn, this was purely a Masonic tem- 
ple in all of its architecture and elegance — or as the Mus- 
selmen say, by Solomon himself, and neither Jews or 
Christians are allowed to enter this sacred enclosure on 
any pretence whatever. At the age of one hundred and 
seventy-five, Abraham died in peace, and was buried by 
Isaac and Ishmael in the same sepulchre with Sarah — 
see Bible Dictionary, p. 20. 

JACOB. 

Reference is often made to this illustrious individual 
in our book, a short sketch of some of the most remark- 
able events of his life may not be uninteresting to the 
common reader. He was the son of Isaac and Rebekah, 
and twin brother to Esau — Gen. 25 : 24, 26. After many 
severe trials and hardships, Jacob resolved to return to 
his own country, from which he had so long been an 
exile, and he set forward to go to Isaac, his father, in the 
land of Canaan. Laban pursued him with hostile in- 
tentions, but, after a warm expostulation on both sides, 
they agreed to part in peace. Accordingly a solemn 
covenant was entered into, as a sign of which they piled 
up a heap of stones, on which they ate together in token 
of friendship, agreeably to a custom prevalent among 
ancient nations. After this, his brother Esau met him 
with an army of four hundred men, determined to con- 
quer this lonely traveler. In this extremity, he had no 
other resource than to look to Heaven for aid. 

The following Bible account, is peculiarly interesting. 
Gen., chap. 28, including the 22d verse : 



102 MASONKY, PAST, 

10. And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went 
toward Haran. 

11. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried 
there all night, because the sun was set ; and he took of 
the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, 
and lay down in that place to sleep. 

12. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on 
the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven : and be- 
hold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 

13. And behold the Lord stood above it, and said, I 
am the Lord God of Abraham thj father, and the God 
of Isaac : the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give 
it, and to thy seed. 

14. And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, 
and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the 
east, and to the north, and to the south : and in thee, and 
in thy seed, shall all the families of the. earth be blessed. 

15. And behold I am with thee, and will keep thee in 
all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again 
into this land : for I will not leave thee, until I have 
done that which I have spoken to thee of. 

16. And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, 
surely the Lord is in this place, and I kn ew it not. 

17. And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this 
place ? this is none other but the house of God, and this 
is the gate of heaven. 

18. And Jacob rose np early in the morning, and 
took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it 
np for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. 

19. And he called the name of that place Bethel : 
but the name of that city was called Lutz, at the first. 

20. And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be 
with me, and will keep me in this way that I go, and 
will give me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, 

21. So that I come again to my father's house in 
peace : then shall the Lord be my God. 

22. And this stone which I have set for a pillar, 6hall 
be God's house : and of all that thou shalt give me, I 
will surely give the tenth unto thee. 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 103 

How remarkable and truly Masonic is this whole 
scene, exemplifying in the strongest manner possible, 
the ancient usages and customs ot the order to perpetu- 
ate great events by heaps of stone, pillars, and many 
other methods of significant meaning which are perfect- 
ly understood by the Fraternity to this day. Bethel, 
where Jacob beheld this wonderful vision, is about forty 
miles north easterly from Jerusalem, and was the resi- 
dence of one of the Canaanitish kings, and the Ephram- 
ites — it will be remembered that Jeptha, Judge of Israel, 
had a war with the Ephramites. The tabernacle was 
stationed a long time in this place. When our atten- 
tion is directed to this scene, we are taught to look up 
to the cloudy canopy and starry decked heavens, where 
all good Masons hope at last to arrive. In after years 
Jeroboam placed one of his golden calves here, for idol- 
atrous worship, I Kings, 12, 28-9. For this cause a part 
of the prophecy of Amos — Amos, what seest thou, a 
plumb line ? — was directed against the city, and was ful- 
filled in the time of Josiah, and the prophet himself 
was directed to flee from the place. At this time Bethel 
was the residence of the King of Israel, Amos 7, 10. 
Masonry, at that day, was the only order in the world 
th at did not worship idols, and never have since. In 
reference to the vision of Jacob, Dr. Oliver, b. 1, p. 61, 
note 5, says : Thus we figuratively say in the lectures, 
its foot rested on the Bible, and its summit is lost in the 
cloudy canopy of heaven. By the doctrines contained 
in that holy book we are taught implicitly to believe in 
the dispensation of Providence, which enables us to as- 
cend the first step, this faith naturally creates a hope 
that we may become partakers in the promises contain- 
ed therein, which enables us to ascend the second step ; 
but, the third and last being charity, comprehend the 
whole, and he who possesses this virtue in its fullest ex- 
tent, may be said to have arrived at the summit of sci- 
ence, an ethereal mansion veiled from mortal eye by the 
starry firmament, which is depicted in a Masonic Lodge 
by symbols with which no brother can be unacquainted. 



104 MASONEY, PAST, 

Our manuals say the principal rounds of this ladder are 
denominated Faith, Hope and Charity — Faith in God, 
Hope in Immortality, and Charity to all mankind. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Moses, life of — Joshua — Dr. Oliver's opinion — Pillar of Fire alluded 
to — Red Sea — Destruction of Pharaoh's Army — Mount Sinai, 
where — A Modern Traveler's opinion — Dr. Oliver says three 
Lodges of Masonry were connected with this Mountain — Moses 
opened a Holy Lodge here — Primitive Masonry, what — A Perfect 
System. 

MOSES, 

A distinguished leader and general of the Hebrews, 
was born in Egypt in the year of the world 2433, 777 
years after the flood, 459 before building the temple. 
When a babe he was found in an ark of bulrushes, 
floating in the river Nile, not far from Alexandria, the 
capital of Egypt — the adopted son of Pharaoh's daughter, 
reared in the Royal family, learned in all the wisdom of 
Egypt, Acts 21, 22, Masonry, of course, included, un- 
derstood distinctly, and could read correctly the mean- 
ing of Masonic symbols and hieroglyphics inscribed 
upon these wonderful pyramids in the immediate vicini- 
ty where he lived, had unequalled advantage, from his 
connection with the Royal family, married Zipporah the 
daughter of Jethro, lived forty years as a shepherd ; at 
this time he received a miraculous intimation from God 
that he was to be the leader and deliverer of his chosen 
people, the miracles wrought by his hands, his frequent 
opportunities ot communing immediately with the Di- 
vine Majesty, the wondertul displays he witnessed of the 
power and glory of Jehovah, and his intimate knowledge 
of the Divine mysteries and significant system of reli- 
gious rites and ceremonies called the Mosaic ritual, or 
the sublime mysteries ot Masonry ot that day, the sin- 
gular manner of his death, and the fact that he was to 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 105 

be the historian of ages and events so remote and so in- 
tensely interesting to us, in our various relations, pros- 
pects and circumstances, all combine to make him the 
most extraordinary man that ever lived. His brother 
Aaron was associated with him, and the history of their 
official career would be a record of the Jews, from the 
close of their bondage in Egypt to their approach to the 
land of Canaan. He was profoundly versed in geology 
though he never taught it as a practical science. The 
researches, deep in the solid rock, the remains of miner- 
als and fossils, unknown in our world, which must have 
existed thousands of years previous to the formation of 
man, demonstrate that his views of creation were all 
correct, based upon a practical knowledge which the 
eye of science, in our day, has discovered under the 
immediate inspiration of the Almighty. He was the 
historian of the world so perfectly in accordance with 
tradition and Masonry in those early ages. A law-giver 
who had framed and modeled the most perfect system of 
jurisprudence, which all nations in their legislative 
bodies, as a code of morals and religion, are proud to 
imitate, upon which rests the foundation of all law, hu- 
man and divine ; a judge, keen and penetrating, reach- 
ing far into the future, nothing escaping his notice that 
would be for the glory of God and the good of our race; 
an astronomer and geometrician, pointing to the order, 
harmony and government of the world, leaving it to 
the scholar in after ages to develope its laws, and to un- 
fold the wisdom, strength and beauty of the Supreme 
Architect' of the Universe, which were too well calcula- 
ted to call into requisition the loftiest powers of his soul. 
A general, unrivaled in skill, courage, and military tac- 
tics, commanding an army — it is said, nearly two mil- 
lions, of men, women and children, left Egypt — unequal- 
led in number or in character. The God of battles had 
directed him to marshal the hosts, and he was appointed 
their leader, and it is remarkable, that, living in Egypt 
as long as he did, a member of the royal family, so em- 
inently skilled in all the arts and sciences, and so per- 



106 MASONRY, PAST, 

fectly familiar with the sublime mysteries of his nation, 
that he should never have mentioned the pyramids in 
his very neighborhood, on which so much genius ancj 
art had been displayed, many of them built before his 
day, and at which his countrymen had labored in his 
own time. He merely states the fact of their being in 
bondage under the most cruel and oppressive tyranny, 
subject to the most abject slavery, goaded by tyrants and 
taskmasters, often compelled to make brick without 
straw, can only be accounted for, we think, from the fact 
that he had seen strange and mysterious inscriptions, 
symbols and hieroglyphics, representing the worship, 
manners and customs of generations of men unknown 
and unrecorded in the world, and the sublime mysteries 
they contained, ought never to be given to a profane 
and idolatrous nation, besides, inspiration never directed 
him to make any disclosure of this kind. But the time 
was drawing nigh when the power ©f the' Pharaohs was 
to be broken, her kingdom totter to its fall, her mighty 
sons perish, and a complete revolution take place through- 
out her empire, the God of Heaven had decreed it, and 
in the name of the Lord of Hosts it shall be accomplished. 
Moses was now about to witness one of the most over- 
whelming scenes that had ever occurred in his eventful 
life. A short account is given in the third chapter of 
Exodus : 

MOSES KEEPETH JETHKo'8 FLOCK. 

1. Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, 
the priest of Midian ; and he led the flock to the back- 
side of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, 
even to Horeb. 

2. And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, in 
a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush, and he look- 
ed, and behold the bush burned with fire, and the bush 
was not consumed. 

3. And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this 
great sight, why the bush is not burnt. 

4. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, 



PKESESTT AND FUTURE. 107 

God called unto him out of the midst of the bush and 
said, Moses, Moses: and he said, Here, am I. 

5. And he said, Draw not nigh hither; put off thy 
shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou stand- 
est is holy ground. 

6. Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the 
God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of 
Jacob. And Moses hid his face ; for he was afraid to 
look upon God. 

Our attention is often directed to this overwhelming 
scene in our work, and the symbols used for this pur- 
pose are grand and terrific, and the impressions made 
upon the mind never can be effaced while memory holds 
a lodgement in the soul. Moses, having seen God, con- 
versed with him face to face, and been made acquainted 
with those mysterious signs, tokens, and wonders, satis- 
fied that the Divine and Holy Being who had held this 
intimate communion with him, on that sacred moun- 
tain, would accomplish all his purposes, in bringing 
his people into the promised land, hastened down to 
carry into effect the great object of his mission, and pre- 
pare his countrymen for the great deliverance that was 
at hand. He assembled the nation, rehearsed in their 
hearing the events of their history, told them what he 
had seen and heard on that holy mountain alone with 
God, and directed them to govern themselves according- 
ly, and be particularly attentive to the signs, tokens and 
wonders that would be given, which were to follow them 
in all their journeyings to the holy land. This was oral 
communication, rehearsing the traditions of the fathers, 
and the prophets through a long roll of ages, and was 
now to be accomplished by the most wonderful display 
of Almighty power ever witnessed in our world. Ma- 
sonry and religion at that day were the same, having 
but one faith, one God, and one object. National and 
conservative in all its elements, by whatever name it 
was called, tending to glorify God and enjoy him for- 
ever. Take from us these glorious principles, sweep 
away this foundation, and we fall ; dark and gloomy our 



108 MASOFRY, PAST, 

pathway here, dreary and hopeless our prospects here- 
after, the Holy Bible a dream, Masonry a farce, and re- 
ligion a falsehood, and the symbolical language of 
Moses, the prophets and holy men of God, all delusion ! 
These sublime mysteries were orally communicated to 
Aaron and Joshua, who had every confidence in the su- 
perior skill and supernatural endowments of their grand 
master — three is a number sufficient to open any lodge 
— and God, by him, would accomplish the salvation of 
Israel. The Israelites, at this time, dwelt in Goshen, 
on the banks of the Nile, about six miles from Alexan- 
dria, the capital of Egypt, where the palace of Pharaoh 
was situated, and four hundred and eighty miles south- 
west from Jerusalem. Goodrich's Pictorial History of 
all Nations, p. 136. 

Moses understood distinctly the habits, laws, manners, 
customs, civil policy and the sublime mysteries of the 
Egyptians. 

Bro. Mackey in his Review of Masonry, vol. 2, note 
1, p. 84, says : The Maji of Persia, the Greek philoso- 
phers, the Jewish priests, or the twelve patriarchs who 
preceded Moses during the captivity in Egypt, all learn- 
ed trom the Egyptian priests their doctrines, their mys- 
teries, their science, with the art of governing the peo- 
ple in accordance with their dispositions, their civiliza- 
tion, and the nature of their climate. These mysteries 
and these sciences were carefully guarded and taught by 
the priests, who were extensively intrusted with their 
control ; and to prevent men without character, firmness 
of purpose, or intelligence, from being admitted to them, 
they established a law that all initiates should be sub- 
ject to the trial of the four elements. These trials were 
intended to secure the courage, morality and intelligence 
of the neophite, and to repel slaves and the dregs of the 
people from participating in their sacred ceremonies. 
We preserve, in the Masonic trials of initiation, at the 
present day, the ancient names of the voyages to 
which the candidate was subject at his initiation, and 
we also preserve the Egyptian inscription, which is read 



PKESEtfT AND FUTURE. 109 

on the sarcophagus of Hiram, in the vault, at the ad- 
mission into the sublime degree of Knights of Kadosh. 
Every man could present himself for the Egyptian ini- 
tiation, but all were not admitted without distinction, a 
regulation that was subsequently adopted by the Greek 
primitive Christians and the Masons. When an initiate 
was admitted into the greater mysteries, he became a 
priest ; then all deception ceased. These instructions 
consisted, says this celebrated author, Review, p. 86, in 
teaching him the weakness of humanity, the obtuse op- 
erations of nature, the course ot the stars and the order 
of the universe. The knowledge of these things neces- 
sarily brought the candidates to a recognition of the 
Grand Architect of the universe. And, on page 87, he 
continues : "All the rites of Masonry, and especially in 
Eccasism, and the degrees which are derived Irom 
it, the formality of the Egyptian trials and ceremo- 
nies have been preserved, the instruction is the 
same. The priests, by their power and physical 
knowledge, could control the character of their candi- 
dates for initiation, was the basis of ancient religions, 
as it is, that of Masonry." Moses was perfectly famil- 
iar with all the ancient modes, forms, and ceremonies of 
initiation, and knew well they never were designed for 
the slave, the common mass of the people, or the unpre- 
pared novice, who would ridicule what they could not 
comprehend. The miracles he wrought to attest his 
Divine authority, the mysterious power that attended 
his mission, the ultimate triumph and complete success, 
in every instance, demonstrates he was under the super- 
intending care of a Divine Being, whose wisdom is in- 
finite, and whose power is Almighty. These sublime 
mysteries are perfectly familiar to the Royal Arch Ma- 
son, which never were committed to paper — the forms 
and ceremonies of that degree being a profound secret. 
All things were now ready, the proud heart of Pha- 
raoh humbled, the first-born in Egypt slain, the haughty 
monarch thrust them out, and they commenced their 
journey about the middle of April. Their starting point, 



110 MASONRY, PAST, 

as before remarked, was Goshen, which extended above 
Cairo to the Mediterranean, bounded on the east by the 
mountains which separate the waters of the Red Sea 
from those of the Nile. Bible Dictionary, p. 382. 
From the most authentic records, it appears there were 
nearly two millions, old and young, that left Egypt at 
this time. The pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of 
fire by night, says Dr. Oliver, b. 1, p. 55, that accom- 
panied the Israelites in their journeys, can be accounted 
for on no other principle than a stupendous miracle. 
He further adds : It bore the character of a dense cloud 
by day to screen the people from the burning rays of 
the sun in that inhospitable wilderness, where they were 
domesticated forty years — the journey being only about 
four hundred and eighty miles from Goshen to the land 
of Canaan, can now be peformed in as many hours — 
and fire to give them light by night accompanied their 
wanderings from the first day of their departure from 
Egypt to their final establishment in the land of promise. 
And, in b. 1, p. 330, the Doctor says : To endeavor to 
account for this phenomenon by natural causes, would 
be the hight of absurdity; it was preternatural in all 
its appearances and in all its effects. It was evidently 
a single pillar, for the reason that it removed from before 
the people on the borders of the Eed Sea, and passing 
over the heads of the whole assembly, placed itself be- 
tween the Egyptians, with its dense or cloudy side 
towards the latter, from which issued peals of thunder, 
attended by forked lightning, making the darkness 
more visible to the Egyptians. The whole scene of the 
pillars, continues the eminent Divine, b. 1, p. 335, was 
called the Shekinah, or beam of glory ; this beam shone 
upon Abel and his sacrifice by the same glory. The 
pillar of cloud, and the clouds that filled the tabernacle 
and the temple, were of the same nature. The journey - 
ings of the Israelites from Egypt are briefly noticed in 
the Bible Dictionary, p. 376 : they commenced on the 
fifteenth day of the first month, says this author, about 
the middle of our April ; their first journey was from 



PBESEffT AND EUTUEE. Ill 

Rameses, ten miles north-west of Suez, toSuccoth, which 
last, as the name signifies, booths ; the distance between 
these two places is estimated at thirty miles; their 
course must have been a little north of east, to pass around 
the end of the mountain Which stood in their way. 
From Succoth to Etham, in the edge of the wilderness, 
was a long march, the stages being at least sixty miles 
apart, but they were flying from an enemy, and there 
was not one feeble or sick among them, and their God 
bore them as on an eagle's wings, so that it is not im- 
possible that they passed over this distance in twenty- 
four hours. The distance to the Arabian gulf, may, 
however, have been twelve or fifteen miles less, anciently 
than at present, as there are clear indications that the 
waters have receded that distance. Now they received 
an order from Goo} to change their course, and instead 
of going eastward in the wilderness in a direct line, to 
turn southward, and pass along the coast of the Red 
Sea, keeping upon their left, and the mountains already 
mentioned on their right, pursuing this route for about 
thirty-two miles from Etham, which was formerly on 
the northern part of the Arabian Gulf, or twenty miles 
south of Suez. Now occupying the land at the end of 
the Red Sea, they arrived at a place where there seems 
to have been a gap, or opening in the mountain towards 
Egypt, and a creek or estuary which obstructed their 
future progress towards the south. Here, at Migdol, 
over against Baal-zephon, and near Pi-hahiroth, when 
enclosed on every side but one, they were overtaken by 
the chariots and horsemen of Pharaoh, and must have 
been destroyed, had not God miraculously interposed 
and opened for them a passage through the Red Sea, 
about thirty miles wide. The pillar of cloud before 
mentioned was sufficient to overshadow six hundred and 
three thousand, five hundred and fifty males, that left 
Egypt, besides women and children. 

Moses 1 rod was an emblem of Almighty power ; he 
stretched it over the sea and the waters were divided ; 
this is one of the most stupendous miracles recorded in 



112 MASONRY, PAST, 

Jewish history. The Red Sea is a gulf, setting up one 
thousand, one hundred and sixty miles from the Arabian 
Sea, through the straits of Babelmandel, nearly to Cairo 
on the Nile; its mean breadth is about one hundred and 
twenty miles. It is supposed it derived its name from 
the fact, that its borders were in the possession of Edorn, 
which signifies red ; the northern extremity of the Red 
Sea is divided into two gulfs, Arabia and Suez ; the 
latter was crossed by the Israelites ; the Arabs to this 
day, call it the Sea of destruction. We stop net to re- 
fute the arguments of the skeptic or infidel ; Masonry 
has nothing to do with either ; it is sufficient for our 
purpose that the sacred historian eays : Ex. 14, 22, And 
the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea, 
upon the dry ground, and the waters were a wall unto 
them, on their right hand and on their left. Dr. Oliver, 
b. 1, p. 270. note 36, says, the place where the Israelites 
crossed is about one hundred and sixty miles in length, 
with a mean breath of thirty miles, varying very much 
at its northern extremity; the mean depth of the waters 
is from nine to fourteen fathoms, with a sandy bottom . 
Wilkenson, quoted by Dr. Oliver, b. 1, p. 269, note 29, 
says, that the town of Suez stands on the hill of the 
ancient Dobzim, which signifies destruction, and refers 
to the overthrow of Pharaoh and his hosts, and that the 
neighboring mountain is called Staga, or deliverence, in 
reference to exodus of the Israelites. It would appear 
that the cloud that had conducted them thus far in safety 
through their perilous journey in the desert, was nothing 
less than the glorious name of God. In Exodus, 23, 20, 
21, we are told, that I send an angel before thee to 
keep thee in the way, and bring 4hee into a place 
which I have prepared ; beware of him and obey his 
voice ; provoke him not, for my name is in him. The 
early fathers considered the rod of Moses, used with 
Almighty power, on this and many other occasions, a 
type or sign, destined hereafter to become peculiar to 
salvation. In the Free Masons Quarterly Review, p. 
371, it is said, the Mason is content to draw from it a 



PKESEKT AND FUTUKE. 113 

beautiful moral, and to trace in it an authority for those 
mysteries, peculiar to the Fellow Graft degree, and an 
additional confirmation of the Divine origin of our 
order, 

MOUNT SINAI, 

Or Horeb, are two peaks of the same mountain—is a 
peninsula formed by two branches into which the gulf 
called the Red Sea, terminates. In the central part of 
the peninsula stands Mount Sinai, in Arabia, awfully 
grand and majestic, as a memorial of one of the most 
stupendous miracles recorded in sacred history. It 
would seetn, says a modern traveler, that it had been 
once an ocean of lava, and while its waves were literally 
running mountains high, it was commanded suddenly 
to stand still. An English missionary who visited Mount 
Sinai, in the summer of 1834, says : we ascended until 
we reached an elevation of one thousand leet above the 
level of the sea. Here is a fine large plain situated be- 
tween two ridges of mountain, and in my humble opin- 
ion, he continues, the Israelites must have made their 
encampment here. The first view that I enjoyed on 
this awful mountain, made the deepest impression upon 
my mind. I felt myself transported among the Israel- 
ites, whom the Lord had separated from the rest of the 
world, and led them into this solitude in order to declare 
them His chosen people. I saw, as it were, Jehovah in 
a pillar of cloud, on the summit of that bold mountain, 
and when he lifted up his voice, saying, I am the Lord 
thy God, the thunder of his voice re-echoed from all the 
surrounding mountains. On the top of Mount Sinai is 
a chapel, dedicated to Elias, the prophet, and the travel- 
er is shown the place where he took refuge from Jezebel. 
Eear this place is Elias 5 well, and here, it is said Moses 
sat with the rod of God in his hand — the Royal Arch 
Mason understands this emblem — with Aaron and Hur, 
during the battle of the Ammekites. The steep valley 
below is the valley of Rephiden. It is to be observed, 
8 



114 MASONRY, PAST, 

says Dr. Oliver, b. 2, p. 132, note 6, that the three orig- 
inal lodges of Masonry are all connected either with this 
mountain, or Horeb, which is also denominated the 
Mount of God ; and on page 152, says this learned divine, 
here was opened the Holy Lodge by Moses, Aholiab 
and Bezoleel, and being inspired from on High for the 
particular service of building the Tabernacle, they com- 
menced the duties assigned them with zeal and assidui- 
ty, having been appointed by Moses as his wardens to 
superintend the execution of the various details of the 
work. It has already been remarked that Horeb and 
Sinai are two peaks of the same mountain, which was 
remarkable for seven manifestations of the Almighty 
power of God, by which the whole lofty precinct was 
sanctified and a veneration created for the highest hills : 
1st, The fire without heat at the bush ; 2d, The produc- 
tion of water out of the dry rock by the agency of 
Moses' rod ; 3d, The elevation of his hands which ac- 
companied the destruction of Amaleck ; 4th, The aw- 
ful revelation of the Jewish law ; 5th, The miraculous 
abstinence of Moses ; 6th, The destruction of the deca- 
logue ; 7th, The vision of Elijah. Dr. Oliver, b. 1, p. 23, 
note 27, 28, says that although the elders were allowed 
to see God on this high place, as a glorious light resting 
upon a pavement equal y glorious, he did not condescend 
to allow them to be present during his private confer- 
ence with Moses in the lodge girt about and concealed 
by a cloudy canopy, and the door tiled by Joshua. 
Moses removed the tent or tabernacle to the same holy 
hill after the glory of the Lord had departed from them, 
on account of the idolatry of Aaron's molten calf. Here 
the Shekinah again made its appearance, and here God 
vouchsafed his communications until the Tabernacle was 
completed. And has Masonry, particularly the royal 
arch, and higher degrees, nothing to do with these over- 
whelming scenes, or traditions, or sacred history sus- 
taining these truths ? No sublime views of the mysteri- 
ous and ineffable Name, that was communicated to 
Moses by the Almighty himself? No allusion in our 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 115 

work to this tremendeous revelation to which the world 
is indebted for the Book of the Law ? 

The Egyptians were learned in all the arts and scien- 
ces of the day, yet none of their philosophers or wise 
men ever dared to write a revelation from God ; the fu- 
ture was veiled from their view ; it was left for Moses, 
the wisest legislator and law-giver that ever lived in our 
world, to lift the veil and unfold the glories of that upper 
and better temple of which the tabernacle was but a 
faint type. And on that holy mountain, alone with 
God, he received gifts and messages for men that should 
tell upon the destinies of the world until the great drama 
of human life should be wound up. No Royal Arch 
Mason can read the Bible account of this tremendeous 
scene in Exodus, chap. 19, without feeling a degree of 
awe and holy reverence, which are truly sublime and 
awfully impressive. 

16. And it came to pass on the third day in the morn- 
ing, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick 
cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet ex 
ceeding loud, so that all the people that was in the camp 
trembled. 

18. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, be- 
cause the Lord descended upon it in fire : and the smoke 
thereof ascended as the smoke ot a furnace, and the 
whole mount quaked greatly. 

19. And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, 
and waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God 
answered him by a voice. 

20. And the Lord came down upon monnt Sinai, on 
the top of the mount : and the Lord called Moses up to 
the top of the mount, and Moses went up. 

For the ten commandments, given to Moses by the 
Almighty, by oral communication, see 20th chapter of 
Exodus. This overwhelming scene surpasses in magnifi- 
cent graudear and glory, almost every other event that 
has transpired in our world ; it was veiled in allegory 
and illustrated by symbols ot the most grand and ter- 
rific character, for no man at any time can see God and 



116 MASONRY, PAST, 

live, except it is by signs, symbols, emblems, or in some 
way representing his power and goodness, that can be 
judged of through the medium of our senses. This is 
acknowledged by the fraternity throughout the world, to 
be ancient Masonry. In its sublime and holy teachings, 
this scene of Moses on the mount is one of our 
land-marks, handed down to us with such scrupulous 
care by our forefathers, to which we have so invariably 
adhered, and will be preserved in the same way forever, 
and no earthly power can sever the tie that binds us to 
the great brotherhood of the past, or the future. The 
Shekinah came dawn into a thick cloud, says Patrie, in 
his commentary on this scene, vol. 1, p. 268, with a glit- 
tering company of Angels, who appeared like flames of 
lire. Moses understood it in the same way, and he said 
the Lord came Irom Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto 
them, he shined forth from Mount Paran, and he came 
with ten thousand of saints ; from his right hand went a 
fiery law for them, Deut. 33, 2. R. Johanan, quoted by Dr. 
Oliver, b. 2, p. 158, note 11, says : That the voice utter- 
ing the decalogue divided itself into seventy languages, 
so that each nation might hear it in his own tongue. In 
the preface to the Misna, he continues, God not only 
delivered the law to Moses on Mount Sinai, but the in- 
terpretation likewise, and when he came down from the 
mount, Aaron visited him in his tent, or lodge, accom- 
panied by Eleazer and Ithamer, to whom Muses repeat- 
ed the interpretation, then the seventy elders of the 
Sanhedrim came in and Moses again repeated it to them. 
This Holy Lodge, says Dr. Oliver, b. 2. p. 151, was 
opened about the year 2415, two years after the exodus 
of the Israelites from their Egyptian bondage, 587 years 
before the temple was built on consecrated ground, here 
were delivered the forms of those mysterious prototypes 
of the tabernacle, the ark of the covenant, and the dec- 
alogue, engraven by the finger of the Most High, with 
the sublime and comprehensive precepts of religious and 
moral duty, and there was dictated by his unerring wis- 
dom, those peculiar forms of civil and religious polity, 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 117 

which, by separating this people from all other nations, 
consecrated Israel a chosen vessel for his service. It 
will be remembered that there was no written law or 
revelation previous to this period, from the creation of 
the world ; for 2415 years all was tradition, faithfully 
transmitted from generation to generation, orally com- 
municated, and kept alive by mysterious emblems, sym- 
bols, and hieroglyphics, inscribed upon marble, stone, and 
other monuments, but more particularly upon the hearts 
of our ancient brethren, by the finger of the Almighty 
himself. 

THE GREAT OBJECT THESE OLD MASONS HAD IN VIEW, 

Was to counteract the evils of our race and introduce a 
religion in which all nations, and all the conflicting ele- 
ments of our being could unite without a jarring note 
or a discordant sound. That she has done much to ef- 
fect this object, there can be no doubt v What she will 
yet accomplish must be referred to the great future, 
when she will be rewarded according to her works. He 
that giveth a cup of cold water in the name of a disci- 
ple stiall not lose his reward, and in proportion as we 
depart from these, and set up any other God to worship, 
whether it be in the Lodge, in the Church or among 
heathen nations, it is idolatry. But Masonry has for- 
ever remained firm and fixed in her belief of the only 
living and true God, the Creation of the world, the 
death of the body and the immortality of the soul. 

WHAT WAS PRIMITIVE MASONRY, THEN. 

It was a system of pure religion, addressed to God in 
the infancy of the world, when the manners of men 
were so pure and unsophisticated as to neednoceremon- 
al law. This, says Sir Isaac Newton — Sir Isaac Newton 
was a Mason of a very high order — in his Chronological 
tables of Antiquity, p. 183, was the religion ot the first 
ages of the world, still called by the Jews the precept of 
the sons ot Noah. 



118 MASONRY, PAST, 

"WHAT CONSTITUTED A PERFECT SYSTEM OF MASONRY IN THOSE 
EARLY AGES OF THE WORLD. 

Free Masonry, says Dr. Oliver, b. 1, p. 276, then be- 
ing a confessedly an allegorical system, all its points, parts 
and secrets, must partake in common with its emblem- 
atical character, every doctrine and ceremony has its 
mystical reference, every land-maik its legitimate ex- 
planation, every symbolical reference constitutes a plain 
type of some great event, connected with our best and 
dearest interests. All the historical facts and circum- 
stances of the Jewish ceremony, which have been incor- 
porated into the system of Free Masonry, and they are 
numerous and significant, partake alike of this symbol- 
ical tendency, and it is remarkable that there is not a sin- 
gle legend or tradition which Free Masonry acknowledges 
that can be construed into a type or emblem of any 
great truth but is connected directly or indirectly with 
the covenat delivered by the Almighty, with the gra- 
cious designs of redeeming his erring creatures from the 
effects of the fall, and bringing in an everlasting right- 
eousness by the son of God. This system in the early 
ages of the world, not only in their initiatory service io 
those old lodges, which were always emblematical, so- 
cial, moral and religious, but all the elements of faith 
and practice were taken together, which formed one of 
the most perfect systems of religion known in our world. 

WHAT ELSE DID PRIMITIVE MASONRY INCULCATE ? 

In the ancient system almost innumerable events were 
brought to view in the natural world, but numerous tacts 
and laws that govern the mental and intellectual being, 
which are infinitely more important. Rev. Salem Town, 
in his Speculative Masonry, p. 71, says : The existence 
of God, the creation of the world, the fall ot man and his 
final redemption were exhibited by the most lively Ma- 
sonic representations. 

DID MASONRY IN THOSE EARLY AGES RECOGNIZE THESE GREAT 

EVENTS ? 

She did, and many of them are still brought to view 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 119 

in the work of our lodges, and enstamped upon the mind 
with a moral power that never can be effaced while vir- 
tue, integrity and religion hold a lodgement in the soul. 

COULD THE MABSES OF THE PEOPLE IN THOSE DARK AGI8 
UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF EMBLEMS, SYMBOLS AND 
HIEROGLYPHICS ? 

They could not, any more than an ignorant Hotten- 
tot could comprehend the laws of geometry or astrono- 
my. Tbese sublime and overwhelming truths were in- 
trusted to the few of the most learned who had been 
taught by the Deity himself, and made it their study, to 
communicate them to those only who could appreciate, 
and who were duly prepared to receive them. Tin's 
method of instruction, faithfully handed down to us from 
ancient times, is universally practiced by the fraternity 
at the present day, and nothing can surpass the beauty, 
glory and grandeur of communicating moral and reli- 
gious instruction by these symbolical signs. It furnish- 
es a series ot evidences from the creation of the world, 
and not one of them but silently and positively establish 
the great principles of natural and revealed religion, 
which will ultimately triumph over all schisms and her- 
esies, and must of necessity become the religion of our 
race. No other system can unite all the conflicting ele- 
ments of our being into one grand, social, moral and re- 
ligious order. It presents the only consistent view of 
all the main facts in the case which Infinite Wisdom 
could devise and intelligent beings receive; and I have 
yet to learn if there was ever anything else taught by 
the fraternity — has the church or the world any other 
guide than natural and revealed religion. 



120 mAsonry, past, 



CHAPTER IX. 

Masonry does not vary from the laws of nature — Why instituted can 
not be fully explained — Masonry depends not entirely upon rev- 
elation — History or revelation written after the events, what — The 
form of revelation — If the Bible were struck from the world, 
what — Was not liable to perversion — All kinds of tradition not 
Masonic — Universal spread of the order — The great pioneer of the 
world. 

DO NOT MANY OF THESE MOMENTOUS EVENTS INCORPORATED 
INTO THE SYSTEM OF MASONRY APPEAR AT VARIANCE 
WITH THE LAWS OF NATURE? 

To a casual observer they do, but they serve as a 
series of incontestible proofs that man is under the 
guidance of a superior and superintending power, di- 
recting him into the ways of truth and holiness, pre- 
paring him for a life of usefulness here, and glory and 
immortality hereafter. In the early ages of the world 
Masonry and religion were the same, embodying the 
same elements of belief, adhering to and governed by 
the same laws, looking up to and trusting in the same 
G d, who is good unto all, and his tender mercies are 
over all his works. If the time should ever arrive, were 
it possible, to introduce any material innovation into the 
leading elements of our faith, that moment the fraternity 
would cease to exist. But, brethren, how delightful the 
thought that the instruction we have received and the 
lessons taught us by our fathers never can change, any 
more that) the material laws that govern the universe. 
The all-steing eye that never slumbers or sleeps — not a 
sparrow falls without its notice — watches over us amid 
the joys and sorrows, hopes and fears, toils and conflicts 
of life. The sun, moon and stars, the letter G, and many 
oilier emblems, suspended in our lodges, of significant 
meaning, coincide exactly with the Bible account of the 
first ages of the world ; and nothing within the wide 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 121 

range of human thought is so completely calculated to 
elevate man in the scale of being, lift the soul to God in 
its most secret and holy aspirations, as a correct elucida- 
tion of ancient and symbolical mysteries. The heart is 
effected, the elements of our moral and intellectual be- 
ing enlarged, and an indellible impression made upon 
the mind by those ancient customs, which never can be 
effaced. The design our forefathers had in view by this 
secret method of instruction was to prevent these mys- 
teries from descending into the familiar reach of the 
vulgar, inattentive and unprepared novices, from whom 
they might not receive due veneration. Calsum, an an- 
cient writer of great research, quoted in Calcut's works 
of antiquity, b. 1, p. 38, says that the Egyptian philoso- 
phers had sublime notions of God and the immortality 
of the soul, which they kept secret, and never communi- 
cated them to the people but under the veil of emblems 
and allegories, and also the learned of eastern nations 
concealed secret mysteries under their religious ceremo- 
nies. Our Saviour, in some instances, adopted the same 
ancient custom. He spake to the multitude in parables, 
but when the disciples were alone, he expounded all 
things necessary for them to know. 

WHY WAS MASONRY INSTITUTED? 

To preserve a faithful record of the dealings of the 
Most High with his frail, erring creatures, and transmit 
a knowledge of those mysterious and wonderful events 
which had transpired, ever daily taking place, and in 
the far distant future would all be accomplished for the 
glory of God and the good of our race. 

COULD MASONRY, AS BELIEVED IN BY THE CRAFT IN AN-. 
CIENT TIMES, BE FULLY EXPLAINED? 

It could not, any more than that living principle that 
pervades the universe, where all are parts of one stu- 
pendous whole, whose body is nature and God the soul, 
life is too frail, time too short to develop all its god-like 
principles, eternity alone can fully comprehend and un- 



122 MASONRY, PAST, 

fold them, though we know but little of the Infinite and 
Holy One who inhabiteth eternity, and whose ways are 
in the great deep and past finding out, though we see 
through a glass darkly, and it doth not yet appear what 
we shall be, yet our symbols and our faith teach us when 
we awake in His likeness we shall be like Him, and 
from the glimmering light we have, are struggling only 
to attain this object. This was ancient Masonry. Does 
the church, or the Holy Bible, give us a better religion ? 
Upon this foundation we rise or fall ; every mystical 
sign, doctrine, or ceremony, point steadily to this great 
end. This is what Masonry, the holy prophets, and in- 
spiration, have taught us since the world began : and 
what this fraternity claims is, our forefathers embodied 
these elements of belief into a more perfect system, pre- 
senting these truths in a clearer and more impressive 
way than can be found in any other order in the world. 

DOES THE TRADITION OF MASONRY DEPEND ENTIRELY 
UPON A WRITTEN REVELATION ? 

It does not. Because it existed nearly three thousand 
years befare the law was written by Moses. To reveal 
is not to create, but simply to make known events al- 
ready in existence, or those in the future. Hence we 
believe the Bible, and receive it as the great light of the 
order, not merely because it is the gift of God. as a rule 
and guide to our faith and practice, which every Mason 
acknowledges, but more particular^ because it irresisti- 
bly establishes the traditions of our forefathers, from 
which they never varied. Therefore, says the apostle, 
2d Thessalonians, 2, 15, stand fast and hold the tradi- 
tions ye have been taught, whether by word or our 
epistle. 

IF HISTORY, OR REVELATION ARE WRITTEN AFTER THE EVENTS, 
WHAT IS NECESSARY TO FIX UNIVERSAL BELIEF IN THE 
MIND ? 

They must agree with the facts, or they would not be 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 123 

received. If Moses, in giving a history of the world, 
had said it came into being by chance, it would have 
been rejected, because tradition had established the fact 
that God had created it nearly three thousand years be- 
fore Moses wrote of that event. 

WHAT FORM DOES REVELATION ASSUME WHEN REFERING TO 
[THE PAST, OR POINTING TO THE FUTURE. 

To the past, that of history ; to the future, prophecy. 
The mind that is sufficiently penetrating to reach far in- 
to the future and foresee events thousands of years before 
they transpire, must be divinely inspired. Masonry un- 
derstands distinctly the prophecies relating to the build- 
ing and destruction of their temple, have been almost to 
the letter fulfilled, and what is yet in the future. Will all 
be accomplished. Divine Wisdom is the source, and the 
Supreme Architect will see to it that nothing fails, no 
material wanting when He comes to inspect the labors 
of his servants, who are building up the temple of God 
in their own hearts, who have wrought diligently and 
perseveringly for so many years, by the square, the 
plumb, and the level. 

IF THE BIBLE SHOULD BE STRUCK FROM THE RECORDS OF THE 
WORLD, WOULD THE FRATERNITY CEASE TO EXIST. 

It would not. What has been done thousands of 
years before there was any written law, could to the end 
of the world be accomplished on the same principle. 
One of her great lights, it is true, would be extinguish- 
ed, but enough of its high and holy principles have been 
committed to memory for the craft to pursue their la- 
bors through all coming time. 

Bat was not this method of communicating thought 
and handing down great events, from the creation of the 
world, to the giving of the law, on Mount Sinai, a period 
of two thousand four hundred and fifteen years, by tra- 
dition, liable to perversion, in those early ages, inflicting 
upon its votaries cruelty, malignity, and every species 
of abomination ? 



124 MASONRY, PAST, 

In some instances it was, but these were local in their 
nature, idolatrous in form, and bounded by the darkened 
intellects of heathen nations. But with ancient Mason- 
ry such perversion was impossible, because unmeaning 
traditions could never have been introduced in the first 
place, or secured the least influence, or gained any 
permanency of belief among our ancient brethren, who 
had. been taught of God, and understood distinctly the 
true meaning of symbols, emblems and allegories, the 
first language in the world, and the only medium of in- 
struction. 

HOW DOES THIS APPEAR. 

The wisdom of our forefathers, guided by the inspira- 
tion of the Almighty, carefully selected the true from 
the false, the genuine from the spurious, and fatthfully 
transmitted, without the slightest variation, from one 
generation to another, the invaluable tenets of the order. 
The sun for instance, an emblem of God's power and 
goodness, could never, among our ancient brethren, mean 
anything else; it may vary in detail, but its essential 
elements will forever remain the same. The attributes 
of the Deity, such as Omnipotence, Omnipresence, Om- 
niscience teach the same doctrine, and it appears per- 
fectly impossible that our ancient brethren should have 
misapprehended their original import, or divested them 
of their true meaning. Justice, mercy, goodness and 
truth, even in the darkest ages, were every where recog- 
nized by the craft as fundamental elements of the faith, 
and as far back in the past, as the order in its present 
organized form can be traced, were ever considtred as 
Divine attributes, and the foundation of every virtue, 
darkened and bewildered as the world was, almost en- 
tirely given up to idolatry, worshipping the hosts of 
heaven, four footed beasts and creeping things, yet there 
were a few who never had bowed the knee to Baal, long 
before the Jewish or Christian Church was known in 
the world these were the chosen of God, to keep steadily 
before the mind by emblems and symbolical language, 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 125 

those astounding and overwhelming truths on which 
the hope of the world depends. Masonry was instituted 
in a very early age, for this important purpose, a disbe- 
lief in these startling truths, and many others held sa- 
cred by our ancient brethren, does not make them false- 
hoods. Truth is an independent principle, it exists 
solely of itself, regardless of the opinions of the world, 
the great antiquity of the order, and its existence in 
some organized form does not depend upon belief or 
disbelief, any more than the being of God does upon 
the opinions of the creatures he has made. It is enough 
for us to know an Omnicient Eye watched over, and an 
Almighty Arm protected our forefathers from falling 
into the gross sins of idolatry. 

ARE ALL KINDS^OF ANCIENT TRADITIONS MASONRY ? 

They are not, such, and such only, as the prophets 
and holy men have embodied into a perfect system for 
the benefit of the craft while at work, and the world at 
large, and no others. 

WHAT WAS THE CAUSE OF THE UNIVERSAL SPREAD OF ORDER 
IN THE EARLY AGES OF THE WORLD ? 

The great secret of their success, and no better answer 
can be given, than her inflexible adherence to the land- 
marks of our forefathers, and so strict were those old 
Masons, that on one occasion the variation of but a sin- 
gle letter, forty and two thousand lost their lives in one 
day. 

Masonry, in her darkest hours, has always been con- 
servative in all her elements of faith and practice, pre- 
senting a strong barrier against intolerance, bigotry and 
superstition on the one hand, and idolatry on the other, 
inviting investigation, and welcomes its most scrutiniz- 
ing test. From our enemies we have nothing to fear, 
we have already been up before the bar of the world, 
and judgment pronounced in our favor. We have been 
persecuted for our endeavors to do good in our fallen 



126 MASONRY, PAST, 

world, sawn asunder, driven to dene and caverns of the 
earth, yet, the universal opinions of mankind is that we 
are right, and by patience, fortitude and perseverance 
we shall, as did our forefathers, ultimately triumph over 
all our enemies, until the whole earth is filled with the 
knowledge and glory of God. 

Again, the order appears from time immemorial 
always to have practiced a kind of republican form of 
government; Kings and Emperors did not hold office 
in those ancient lodges, because of their kingly authority. 
Solomon, our Grand Master, was not elevated to that 
responsible station by virtue of his connection with the 
royal family, but his integrity, skill and indomitable 
energy, placed him in the highest office of the order at 
the time. While the church and the world have been 
torn by schisms and contending factions, we have re- 
mained a unit, carrying out the principles ot our great 
"Washington, united we stand, divided' we fall. Masonry 
admits of no political or religous creed, no sectarianism 
or confusion disturbs the progress of her work, is not 
bounded by geographical "lines ; her emblems and her 
belief are world-wide, and the compass of the craft, in 
its sublime and holy teachings sweeps the universe. 
She is not only the most ancient, but the most wonderful 
and mysterious institutions that ever existed ; that it 
should have survived amid the convulsions of the world, 
and looked calmly out and smiled serenely upon the 
storms of kingly wrath, that have swept over the earth 
and howled along the sky, remained firm and unmoved, 
where kingdoms have been overthrown, and whole na- 
tions gone down in a day, is most remarkable, and can 
only be accounted for from the watchfulness of that 
Oinuicient eye, that never slumbers or sleeps, and to 
the protection of that Almighty arm, that never trem- 
bles ; to this Divine and Holy Being we attribute our 
safety, success and our salvation. The fraternity, as a 
body, from the earliest ages of the world's history, has 
never entered into the great strife of nations for religi- 
ous rule or political power, though in the hour of need, 



PRESENT AND IUTUEE. 127 

when her country called, her sons have been foremost 
in battle, and fearless in danger. Wellington, Bona- 
parte, Washington, Lafayette, Franklin, and a host of 
others of those mighty men, in the councils of the na- 
tions, or in the field battling for their countries rights, 
is an exemplification of these remarks. And she has 
done more than this, by her symbolical language pre- 
served a knowledge of the true God, when all original 
language was lost, and the world sunk down in heathen- 
ism and idolatry. Sir William Jones, quoted by Dr. 
Oliver, b. 1. p. 51, says it is the vehicle of important 
predictions, and while it preserved the great truths, by 
which the destinies of created beings are influenced, it 
traces them, by a gradual but certain process, to that 
mysterious developement of the Divine scheme of man's 
redemption which was accomplished on the cross, there- 
fore, the cross — the Knights Templar knows this is true 
— in christian Masonry, is a symbol of life. These facts 
he continues are not embodied into Free Masonry as a 
matter for our amusement merely, but to induce a spirit 
of research among thinking brethren, that our noble 
science might sustain its high reputation, and preserve 
a corresponding influence over human affairs. 

This is no fancied sketch of ours to arouse the igno- 
rant, or to excite the attention of the thoughtless, but 
are understood by the most learned Masonic writers in 
the world, to be sober realities, and the fraternity who 
have devoted any attention to the subject, firmly believe 
these prophecies, committed to her care in the early 
ages of the world, will all be accomplished, and stand 
until the last tick ot time shall overthrow the universe. 
All that refers to the grand uer and glory of the King- 
dom of God, was, before any law was written, commu- 
nicated orally to faithful witnesses, who were to testify, 
in a proper manner, what they had seen and heard. 
And this is not all she has done for the world, as we 
hope to prove before we are through. 



128 MASONRY, PAST, 

IS IT TRUE THAT MASONRY THROUGH ALL THE DARK AGES HAS 
EVER POSSESSED AN UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE ? 

It is, and understood by Masons of every dialect under 
Heavens.* Dr. Oliver, in his Land Marks of Free Mason- 
ry, b. 1, p. 93, says : The learned Dr. Lock, before he 

was initiated into the mysteries of Free Masonry, said : 
A universal language has been much desired by the 
learned in all ages, but the Masons have such a thing 
among them, and it is like the language of the ancient 
Romans, who are said, by signs only, to express and 
deliver an oration, intelligibly, to men of all nations. 
This method of communicating thought, by emblems, 
symbols and signs, upon moral and religious truths, and 
the great events that have transpired in our world, is 
peculiar to the order, and no other institution that ever 
existed possess it ; and we might add, he is not only re- 
cognized as a stranger in a strange land, but is received 
into the warm embrace of a Brother's heart. 

A written language, it is true, assists us materially to ex- 
plain our symbols and emblems, but we can live without it ; 
our principles were ever considered too sacred to be en- 
trusted to the uncertainty of translations ; the often 
obsolete and unmeaningness of words. Again, Mason- 
ry, long before the fluod, and is to the present day, the 
great pioneer ot the world. To all true religion, where 
civilization has gained an influence among the nations 
of the earth, or human beings marked the soil — there 
her banners wave and float proudly out upon the breeze ; 
there our brethren are silently, steadily and persever- 
ingly at work upon the great tressle-board of human 
liie, preparing the way for the Kingdom of God, which 
will fill the whole earth with its glory. That so vast a 
body, says the Quarterly Review, vol. 8, p. 85 should 
exist in such silence, peace and tranquility, and move 
with such unerring regularity, whilst to the casual ob- 
server it would appear that no eye watches, or hand 
directs its procedure, is the best proof of its original 
adherence to principles, in their nature unchangeably ad- 



vantageons to mankind. There is another peculiarality 
of the order which proves to our mind, conclusively, 
that, it is of God, and that it, Masonry, in all the dark 
and idolatrous ages through which she has so signally 
passed, never has been, in a single instance, guilty of 
idolatry. This of all sins is the most heinous. It has 
frequently brought down upon the nations of the earth 
the most blighting, withering curse of God. Balbec, 
Palmyra, Nineveh, Babjlon, and many other cities, have 
been overthrown, and scarcely a vestige of their ancient 
greatness now remains, and the traveler sighs in vain to 
decypher the places where they once stood. Though 
the Shekinah, or visible presence of God has never been 
seen on Mount Moriah since Solomon departed from the 
God of his fathers. Yet the great body of masons, even 
in their captivity in Babylon, were unshaken in their 
belief in the ever living and true God. Our ancient 
brethren, though in exile in a strange land, away from 
their temple and their home, and the land of their fath- 
ers, had great and exalted privileges, particularly after 
the command of Nebuchadnezzer, let all the nations of 
the earth worship the God of Daniel. Our ancient 
brethren, says Dr. Oliver, b. 2. p. 293> had three grand 
lodges in Babylon ; one at Sara, and the other two at 
Pumpathadeetha, and Naharda, and Daniel the Proph- 
et, were their grand masters. We are assured, contin- 
ues this Eev. Dr., by the Rabines, that the tribes who 
had been carried captive into Babylon, founded the 
celebrated fraternity of Freemasons on the Euphrates, 
for the preservation of traditional knowledge and its 
transmission to a select few, which was kept secret from 
the rest of the world, and carefully concealed within the 
closed recesses of those mysterious institutions. He 
further [says, b. 2, p. 289, Pythagoras, the wonderful 
traveler, who had mastered more than a hundred differ- 
ent languages and dialects, was initiated into the myste- 
ries of Freemasonry, by Daniel the prophet. When 
Cambysus invaded Egypt, he took the celebrated Pyth- 
9 



130 MASOFlftY, PAST, 

agoras prisoner, and carried him to Babylon. But what 
is more to our purpose, lie procured initiation at the 
hands of Daniel into the Jewish system of Freemason- 
ry, which he studied with great care and interest, during 
his residence of twelve years in Chaldea, and when he 
returned home, he established his lodges and dessemina- 
ted along with Esoteric secrets of his philosophy, the 
peculiar rites and ceremonies of* Jewish Freemasonry, 
which gave a new character to this secret sect, and 
confered upon it a high degree of pre-eminence among 
the system promulgated by the sages of Greece, and du- 
ring the long sojourn of our brerhren in captivity, they, 
on no occasion worshiped idols, or were led astray from 
their allegiance to the true God, though they were sur- 
sonnded by enemies and lived in the midst of an idola- 
trous nation. Yet the God of our fathers was with 
them in their great time of need, and kept steadily be- 
fore them his promises that they should return and re- 
build the temple, which will be referred to hereafter, 
when we come to speak of the relation of the Jews t» 
Jerusalem to rebuild the house of the Lord. 



: CHAPTER X. 

Usages of the Fraternity, what — What included in the Ancient de- 
grees — The Tahernacle a connecting link. 

WHAT W T ERE THE USAGES AND CUSTOMS OF TiTE FEATEEKITY 
IN THOSE EABLY AGES. 

They, says Preston, p. 33, and quoted by Dr. Oliver, 
b. 3. p. 281, have ever corresponded with those of the 
ancient Egyptians. Their philosophers, unwilling to 
expose their mysteries to vulgar eyes, concealed their 
particular tenets and principles of polity and philosophy 
under hieroglyphical figures, and expressed their notions 
of government by signs and symbols, which they com- 
municated to the Magi alone, who were bound by an 
oath never to reveal them, except to those capable of 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 131 

understanding their meaning, and were duly initiated 
into their mysteries. Pythagoras established his system 
of Free Masonry on the same principle, all the grand 
and subordinate lodges throughout the world have copied 
this example. Masonry, then, is not only the most an- 
cient, but is one of the most perfect systems of morality 
and religion that ever existed ; the teaching of the 
prophets, Christ and the Apostles, all tend to this point, 
to elevate man in the scale of being, and fix his hopes 
firmly upon God, who will accomplish all things accord- 
ing to the purposes of his own will. We have no other 
rule or guide to our faith and practice. 

WHAT WERE INCLUDED IN THE FIRST THREE DEGREES OF AN- 
CIENT MASONRY. 

There were, even in Solomon's dav, but three degrees 
— in the beginning of his reign. The first was histori- 
cal, moral and religious; the second, religion and sci 
ence of the most exalted character ; the third, religion 
and philosophy, relating to this life as it is, the close of 
our earthly career, the resurrection from the dead, im- 
mortality and eternal life beyond the grave. Ko cere- 
monies ever known, except the Royal Arch and some of 
the higher degrees, can be more grand and imposing 
than this degree. And before we are admitted into 
those sublime mysteries of Freemasonry, which ennoble 
the soul and lifts the mind to God, we must be good men 
and true. The grand and subordinate lodges are alive 
to this important subject, and carrying out this rule to 
the very letter. The mysterious language of symbolism 
was clearly and distinctly understood by our first pa- 
rent in Eden, as already remarked, and by Solomon, 
both having the same object in view — the good of our 
race. But the glory of Eden has departed forever, so 
has the the temple, and the visible presence of the She- 
kinah has never been seen since. But how wonderful, 
how grand, how sublime must be that view of ancient 
craft Masonry, which connects it with all times, all ages, 



132 UfASOKRY, VAST, 

and all generations, shedding a h allotted light of glory 
over the past, lifts the veil of the present, and solves 
the doubts and uncertainties of the future. Though our 
first parent lived nine hundred and thirty years, yet there 
is an impenetrable mystery that hangs over almost the 
entire period of his life, evidently designed by the Al- 
mighty that it should be so, or Moses, his historian, 
would have given it to the world. 

Masonic traditions, however, have brought to light 
many wonderful events in the life of our first parent, 
unrecorded in history, or revelation either. Thus, we 
have endeavored to follow the light, though at times 
exceedingly indistinct, and trace the footsteps of the 
order through the long roll of ages before the Hood, and 
after, following the journeyings of the Israelites until 
they crossed the Red sea ; here was another wonderful 
display of the protecting power of the Almighty, and 
the great caution he took in securing his own name and 
the worship due to him. 

THE TABERNACLE, 

Without which connecting link, in the history of 
events, our work, particularly in the higher degrees 
would be incomplete. A minute description of it is 
given in Exodus, chap. 25. It was magnificent and 
grand, surpassing in unequaled splendor, by anything 
ever seen by the Jews ; Moses was the architect or 
Grand Master, under the immediate supervision of Jeho- 
vah, himself. A palace for the God of Israel, where he 
would manifest his glory, which should be perfectly 
overwhelming ; and Moses went up into the mount, and 
the glory of the Lord abode upon Mount Smah, and the 
cloud covered it six days, and the seventh day he called 
unto Moses out ot the midst of the cloud ; and the sighs 
of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire. On 
the top of the mount, in the eyes of the children of 
Israel, and Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and 
got him up into the mount, and Moses was in the mount 
torty days and forty nights, Ex.24, 16-18. The taber- 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 133 

n icle was an exact representation of King Solomon's 
temple, erected more than five hundred years afterwards 
on Mount Moriah, and upon this consecrated spot, the 
inhabitants of our world, for the first time, received a 
written law. And the Lord said unto Moses, come up 
to me in the mount and be there, and I will give thee 
tablets of stone, and a law, and commandments, which 
I have written that thou mayst teach them, Ex. 24, 12. 
These sublime and holy precepts in all their mysterious 
relations, could never be communicated to or understood 
by the common people, but the law, as a general rule 
of action, they were strictly to observe; thus it is with 
Masonry to this day, all of our sublime teachings, moral 
and religious principles are given to the world, and we 
fear not the result of the most scrutinizing test. The 
Israelites, as a body strongly prejudiced in favor of Idol- 
atry, were not permitted to accompany Moses up to the 
top of the mountain where those mysterious revelations 
were made, perfectly beyond their capacities to under- 
stand. And this is the course the Deity, in all ages, 
has pursued ; he has communicated a knowledge of him- 
self, and the mysterious name by which he was to be 
called, to a few only, which was taught in secret and 
often by the most overwhelming manifestations of his 
glory. We are told by Dr, Oliver, b. 2. p. 167, note 64. 
The tabernacle consisting of three distinct parts, was a 
type of the creation of the universe; the sublunary 
portion, which we inhabit, the celestial, above us, and 
the supreme or angelic. And the Apostle seems to have 
this view, 1 Cor. 12, 2, when he was caught up to the 
third Heavens, corresponding with the three divisions of 
the tabernacle ; the first is the air where winds, clouds 
and birds do fly ; the second, the upper firmament, where 
the sun, moon and stars are set ; and the third the place 
where Jehovah dwells in light and glory. The first of 
these is like the outer courts of the tabernacle, and is 
most open to us, the second is like the inner court 
left open and abounding with strong lights, or lamps 
never giving out. a:id the third is the sanctum 



134 MASONRY, PAST, 

sanctorum, where none were permitted to enter, bnt 
the priests, and they only once a year. The first de- 
partment of the tabernacle, says an ancient historian, 
represents the door of eternity, because the sublime 
thoughts which guard the word are seated at the en- 
trance of the road to science ; the second is called the 
door of flowers, and is connected with the pillar of beau- 
ty ; but the third, called the door of doors, indicates the 
sublime school where our ancient brethren communi- 
cated the mysteries of the true light. The arts and sci- 
ences, the secrets of nature and revelation, were only 
unfolded to the few who weie permitted to enter these 
closely tiled doors of the tabernacle. It is well known 
to all the historians of ancient times that most of the 
Egyptian temples, the tabernacle and Solomon's temple, 
built on Mount Moriah, were placed due east and west. 
A reason for this custom is found in Calcufs Ancient 
History, p. 54: The temples were so contrived that the 
entrance and statues should look towards the east. But 
the Jews, when they worshiped in the tabernacle, had 
no avenues of access but from the east. This method of 
building temples was very ancient, and, in later days, 
almost universal. The object appears to be to receive 
the first rays of the rising sun to assist them in their de- 
votions to the ever-living God. In the Freemason's 
Quarterly Review, vol. 8, p. 286, it is stated : There can 
be little doubt, when we refer to the rules that were then 
observed, and compare them with the present state of 
the craft, that, at the erection of the first tabernacle in 
the wilderness, Freemasonry received its general ar- 
rangements — a character somewhat similar to that which 
has ever since, and still marks the order. The means 
for erecting this magnificent structure for the worship of 
the true God were supplied in abundance by the volun- 
tary contributions of the Israelites, who were enriched 
by the spoils of the Egyptians, which they were directed 
to take, as a remuneration for their labors during their 
long servitude. See Exodus, 3 : 21, 22. The taberna- 
cle was one hundred and fifty feet long and seventy-five 



PRESENT ANT> FUTURE. 135 

feet wide, an oblong square — even the entered appren- 
tice understands this phrase. In the Union Bible Dic- 
tionary, p. 601, we are told that it is estimated that the 
silver and gold^used in the construction of the taberna- 
cle to say nothing of the brass, the copper, the wood, the 
curtains, the canopy, and all the furniture, amounted to 
nearly one million of dollars. The furniture of the Tab- 
ernacle was costly and magnificent, almost exceeding 
the powers of belief. The ark of the covenant — the 
glory of Israel — was located in the middle of the holy 
place, under the wings of the cherubims. The candle- 
stick, made of fine gold, is said to have cost. three mil- 
lions of dollars. See Bible Dictionary, p. 136. A sin- 
gle shaft, five feet high, of solid gold, three branches on 
each side, three feet in diameter, across the top. It was 
of the most cnrioas workmanship of artistic skill ever 
witnessed by the world. Josephus, in speaking of this 
magnificent structure, b. 3., chap. 6, p. 69, says : Over 
against the southern wall was set a candlestick of pure 
gold, being the weight of one hundred pounds, with its 
knobs, belts and pomegranates. The shaft was elevated 
on high from a single base, and separated itself into as 
many branches as there are planets, including the sun 
among them. It terminated in seven heads — has the 
number seven no meaning in our order? — in one row, 
all standing parallel to each other, and these branches 
carried seven lamps, one by one, in imitation of the 
seven planets, and these lamps all looked towards the 
east. The altar of incense, or the golden altar, was 
within the holy place. Exodus, 30: 1-6. From this 
altar incense arose every morning and evening. It was 
a compound of the most costly spices, exceedingly odor- 
iferous. The duty of burning incense upon the altar 
was especially intrusted to the priests. The preparation 
of it for common use was positively prohibited, under 
the severest penalties of the Jewish laws. It was kin- 
dled miraculously, and kept alive constantly by the 
most untiring care. The vessel for conveying the 
fallowed tire upon which incense was burned was 



136 MASONRY, PAST, 

of pure gold. When the priests cast the ineen se 
into the fire the smoke ascended and rolled along in a 
dark volume, filling the entire apartments with the most 
odoriferous fragrance. The workmanship of this splen- 
did and magnificent structure was entrusted to Bazaleel 
and Aholiab; the plan, size, materials, furniture and 
even the most minute particlars were revealed to Moses 
on Mount Sinai, having seen the most incontestable to- 
kens that God would accomplish all his gracious designs, 
bringing his people into the promised land. Moses as- 
sembled the nations, recapitulated the events of their 
history, made all necessary arrangements with his suc- 
cessor for the accomplishment of his great mission ; he 
then celebrated the glory of God in one of the most sub- 
lime and animating hymns on record. After pronounc- 
ing on the tribes, respectfully, the most solemn prophet- 
ic blessing, he went up into a mountain appointed for 
that purpose by the Deity himself, from the summit of 
which his eye ranged over the land of Canaan, from the 
Jordan to the Mediterranean. He died upon that holy 
mountain at the advanced age of one hundred and twenty 
years, and was buried in the valley of Moab. He was 
the author of the first five books of the Bible called the 
Pentaieuch, containing a condensed history of the 
world and its inhabitants ; he introduced that wonder- 
ful and mysterious Dispensation of which the Divine 
Being himself was the Author, under which the ecclesi- 
astical government of those nations, by Moses, was ad- 
ministered for so many years, it was not by the slow 
process of geological investigation, not by the deep re- 
search into ancient history, either by' himself or his co- 
temporaries that this holy man of God learned those 
sublime mysteries so dear to every Mason ; which were 
hidden from the philosophers and sages of his day, but 
it was by immediate inspiration of the Almighty him- 
self. The superior wisdom which distinguished the 
Hebrew prophet from all his cotemporaries, renders his 
single narrative a standing truth in all lodges through- 
out the world, his direction in building the tabernacle 



PEESEKT AKD FUTUEE. 137 

under the supervision of the Almighty is most remark- 
able, and his testimony corroborates the traditions of 
the fathers in the most comprehensive and emphatic 
sense, if Moses was not a Mason, and the tabernacle, 
in all the higher degrees of the order, in all its elements, 
considered purely Masonic, why was Moses considered 
the head and patron of those sublime mysteries which 
he had learned in Egypt. If a part of them were not 
Masonry, what were they ? Joshua, the successor of 
Moses, was the general and commander-in-chief of the 
armies of Israel, had the special charge of the Taberna- 
cle, under the immediate direction ot the Almighty. 
And when it was completed a cloud covered the tent of 
the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the 
Tabernacle and Moses was not able to enter into the 
tent of the congregation because a cloud abode thereon, 
see Ex. 40 : 34-8 ; and when the cloud rose up from the 
tabernacle the children of Israel went forward in all 
their journeyings, for the cloud of the Lord was on the 
Tabernacle by day, and a fire was on it by night, in 
sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their jour- 
neyings. The priests and Levites surrounded the taber- 
nacle in an obloug square, in their appointed order, and 
at some distance from it and the rest of the tribes, in 
four great divisons, including with its appropriate ban- 
ner — The custom of carrying banners in modern times 
probably arose from this circumstance — and every man 
of the children of Israel shall pitch by his own standard 
with the ensigns of their fathers house, see Numbers 2, 2. 
The tabernacle was always pitched in the centre of the 
camps,and each officer had his respective duties to perform. 
"When the pillar of cloud rested over the tent, the army 
halted, which was always the case on the Sabbath, when 
it moved forward the tabernacle was taken down, and 
the whole host following their leader and fearing no 
danger, for the Lord of hosts was their guide, however 
dark, mysterious and inscrutable the ways of Providence 
may be to us in our pilgrimage through the world, yet 
the land of Canaan, a world of glorified spirits, awaits 



lo8 MASONRY, PAST, 

our arrival. After the children of Israel entered the 
land of Canaan the tabernacle was pitched at Gilgal, 
Josh. 4 : 19. This was a small village in the plains of 
Jerico, east of Jerusalem, and about twenty miles from 
it, and two from the river Jordan, one of the oldest cities 
in the Holy Land. The road from Jerusalem runs 
through what is called the wilderness of Jerico, and is 
described by modern travelers as the most dangerous 
place in Palestine, on account of the numerous robber- 
ies. Messrs. Frisk and King, American Missionaries 
visited Jerico in June, 1823, and they confirm the ac- 
count of other travelers, and mention particularly the 
mountain of Quarentina, where tradition says our Sa- 
viour fasted, at the base of which rises a fountain whose 
waters were the subject of Elisha's miracle At Gilgal 
the Israelites erected a monument of twelve stones as a 
memorial of their miraculous deliverance while passing 
through the waters of Jordan. In Joshua, 21 : 22, we 
are told that these twelve stones which they took out of 
Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal, and he spake unto 
the children of Israel saying : Whenever your children 
shall ask your fathers in time to come, saying, what 
means these stones, then ye shall let your children 
know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land, 
for the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan 
from before you until ye were passed over, as the Lord 
your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up before 
us, until ye were gone over, that all the people of the 
earth might know that the hand of the Lord is mighty 
that ye might fear the Lord your God forever. This 
heap of stone is nearly entire to this day. It was the 
only true record in the first ages of the world, and con- 
tinued long after the law was written by Moses on Mount 
Sinai, the starting point of tradition, because no event 
can be transmitted before it existed. If the children of 
Israel had never crossed the Red Sea or the Jordan, no 
tabernacle would have been erected as a dwelling place for 
the Most High, or heaps of stone raised to commemorate 
their wonderful deliverance. And has Masonry, partic- 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 139 

ularly in the higher degrees, nothing to do with these 
great events? It' not, why is our attention so often di- 
rected to these overwhelming scenes 1 From Gilgal 
after the country had been subdued, the tabernacle was 
taken to Shiloh, a city of Ephraim, between Lebanon and 
Bethel, ten miles|south of Sachem, and twenty-five north 
or Jerusalem. Samuel began to prophesy at this place. 
Here Elijah lived, and here Joshua divided the land of 
promise by lot among the twelve tribes that came out of 
Egypt, and at Philoh it remained nearly four hundred 
years. One object the writer has in view, in being thus 
particular in describing places and events in the early 
ages of the world's history, and the journeyings of the 
Isralites to the land of promise, is, to show that Mason- 
ry is intimately connected with them. The building of 
the tabernacle, its objects, and effects, is of vast impor- 
tance to the fraternity, and cannot be overlooked in her 
historical relations connecting the past with the present, 
and the future. And the Eoyal Arch Degree could not 
exist without this reference or connecting link. 

The dark wing of the tempest rested not on the holy 
altar, but the angel of the covenant watched over it 
with an eye that never dimmed, and protected by an 
arm that never trembled. Thus it has been with Ma- 
sonry in all ages. These mysterious ways of God's 
power and goodness, and with all the costly appenda ri- 
ces of the tabernacle, was to move on steadily to its 
destination and accomplish the great object of its mis- 
sion. When it was removed from Philoh, it was borne 
with exulting triumph before the army on its way to- 
wards Nob, but it soon fell into the hands of the Philis- 
tines, at the defeat of the Israelites near Apeck. The 
Philistines took it to Asdod, one of the five capital cities 
on the Mediterranean, between Askelon and Ekron, and 
placed the ark beside their idol God, Dagan. But this 
act of sacrilege and idolatry brought down upon the 
Philistines the severest punishment; the judgment of 
heaven descended upon them like a torrent of lire. Da- 
gan was overthrown and fell on on 'his face, and the idol 



140 MASONRY, PAST, 

temple was destroyed. The Almight} 7 vindicated His 
own power and Glory, thou shalt have no other Gods 
besides me, still vibrated in the ears of the fraternity 
throughout the world. Modern travelers say the ruins 
of the Temple of Dagan, at Gaza, which were pulled 
down by Samson, are still to be seen, and Ashdod, is 
distinctly discovered from an elevated spot near Joppa 
— the Master Mason understands distinctly the circum- 
stances that took place here. The Ph'listines, by a 
special command of the Almighty, returned the ark to 
the Israelites, who removed to Nob, a city of the priests, 
in the tribe of Benjamin, and within sight of Jerusalem, 
about six miles from it. Here David fled from the fury 
of Saul ; here Abernelisk, the high priest, gave David 
the shew bread to satisfy his hunger; the last resting 
place of the tabernacle before it was removed into the 
temple on Mount Moriah, was at Gibion, from five to 
seven miles north of Jerusalem, At the close of Da- 
vid's and the beginning of Solomon's reign, the sanctua- 
ry was there — 1 Chron., 1, 3D, Here Abner was de- 
feated by Joab, and a stone monument was erected to 
commemorate this wonderful deliverance of the Israel- 
ites since they came into the land of Canaan. In 
referring to the tabernacle, which the fraternity often do, 
we cannot forget its emblematic character, and what it 
was designed to represent, the mysterious and glorious 
presence of the Shekinah who on many occasions was visi- 
ble to the Isrealites in their journey ings from bondage to 
the land of promise. The two veils, to the Jewish and 
Christian dispensation ; the priests offering sacrifices in 
the Holiest of Holies to the great atonement made by 
the Son of God — arise, in the end of the world hath he 
put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. We have but 
hastily glanced at a few of the most prominent features 
of the order in the early ages of the world, endeavored 
to keep steadily befoie the mind its emblematic charac 
ters, and the great object of her mission, peace on 
earth and good will to man, and the respective duties wo 
are to perform, that the true meaning of our 



PRESENT AND EUTUEE. 141 

emblems and symbols have come down to us un- 
interuptedly on the stream of time. That we speak the 
same language uttered by prophets and wise men more 
than four thousand years ago. That the light of Mason- 
ry, it is true, glimmered but faintly at times in those 
dark ages of heatfcanism, but at others shone with a 
clearer and brighter effulgence until it burst forth in all 
its glory upon the consecrated hights of Mount Moriah ; 
her scattered energies are collected and concentrated 
upon one single object, her workmen closely inspected 
and her work minutely examined, A system, grand, 
glorious and efficient is being organized, that is to tell 
upon the destinies of the fraternity forever. The nations 
of the earth are beginning to move forward in this 
great enterprise of building a house for God. The most 
celebrated artists in the world are engaged, ample means 
are provided, and the Lord God of Israel is to preside 
over and superintend the work, and Jerusalem, of all 
places on earth, was the spot where this magnificent 
structure was to be erected and dedicated to his Holy 
Name. 

CHAPTER XI. 

Jerusalem — Mount Moriah — David — Solomon — The temple — Em- 
peror Julian attempts to build the temple — Mount Moriali — ■ 
David — Solomon, his initiation — Marriage — Navy — Cavalry- 
Prayer — Forests of Lebanon — Zeradetha— Joppa. 

JERUSALEM — MOUNT MORIAH — DAVID — SOLOMON-— THE 
TEMPLE. 

Jerusalem is situated thirty-one deg. fifty min. north 
latitude, and thirty-five deg. twenty min. east longitude 
irom Greenwich, in the interior of Palestine, on the west 
side of Jordan, thirty-four miles from Joppa— no Mason 
can misunderstand the meaning of this term — and one 
hundred and twenty from Damascus, and was the capi- 
tal of the kingdom of Judah, the perfection of beauty, 



142 MASONRY, PAST, 

and the glory of all lands. Selected by the Almighty as 
his own dwelling place, where the visible presence of 
the Shekinah was often visible, where David sat and 
tuned his harp to the high praises of Jehovah, where 
enraptured prophets saw bright visions of the world 
above, and received messages and gifts for men ; where 
the tribes came up to witness and mingle their anthems 
in ascriptions of praise to the Most High ; where the 
Redeemer came, in the form of a servant, to redeem a 
world from sin, and pointed steadily to the opening 
heavens, where all good Masons hope at last to arrive. 
Jerusalem was a scene of some of the most overwhelm- 
ing events that have ever transpired in the annals of 
our race. Under the administration of David and Solo- 
mon it rose in magnificent grandeur, unparalleled in the 
history of the world, and it is said, by the historian, at 
this time contained nearly a million of inhabitants. It 
was once called Salem, and, in the days of Abraham, 
was the abode of Melchisedech. When the Israelites 
took possession of the promised land, Jerusalem was 
held by the Jebusites. The ancient city of Salem was 
built on Mount Moriah. When the Jebusites, previous 
to David's time, became masters of it, they erected a 
strong fortress in the southern quarter of the city, which 
they called Mount Zion. Although the Israelites, under 
Joshua, took possession of the circumjacent territory, the 
Jebusites still held this fortress, or upper tower, until the 
time of David, who wrested it from them. 2d Samuel, 
5: 7-11. Nevertheless, David took the stronghold of 
Zion — the same is the city of David. And Hiram, king 
of Tyre, sent messengers to David, and cedar trees, and 
carpenters, and masons, and they built David a house, 
preparatory for building the temple by Solomon. 

David, then removed his court from Hebron to Jeru- 
salem, which was thereafterward known as the city of 
David, 2d Samuel, 6. 12. So David went and brought 
up the ark of God, from the house of Oed-edam into 
the city of David with gladness. Upon this proud emi- 
nence, within the boundaries of this ancient city, Solo- 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 143 

mon erected the temple for the worship of the whole 
Jewish nation, unparalleled in splendor and magnifi- 
cence by anything that art or the ingenuity of man had 
ever accomplished. It held this proud eminence as mis- 
tress of the world for nearly five hundred years, when 
it was destroyed by "Nebuchadnezzar; then it lay in 
ruins seventy years, while the Jews were in captivity in 
Babylon, after which it was restored in some good de- 
gree, to its former magnificence, and so remained nearly 
six hundred years, when it was finally destroyed by 
Titus, A. D. 70. In the reign of Adiran, Jerusalem was 
partly rebuilt under the name of Elia. After being 
transformed into a i>agan city, Helen, the mother of 
Constantine overthrew its monuments of idolatry, and 
erected over the sepulchre of our Saviour, a magnificent 
church. The Emperor Julian^ in the true spirit of an 
Apostle, says the Bible Dictionary, p. 349, desiring to 
give the lie to prophecy, assembled the Jews at Jerusa- 
lem, and endeavored in vain to rebuild the Temple. 
In this attempt he was frustrated by an earthquake 
and fiery eruptions from the earth, which totally de- 
stroyed the work, consumed the materials which had 
been collected, and killed a great number of men. 
Jerusalem continued in the power of the eastern kings 
until the reign of the Kalif Oraer, the third in succes- 
sion from Mohammed, who reduced it under his subjec- 
tion. This impious infidel was afterwards assassinated 
in the streets of Jerusalem, in the year 643. The Sara- 
cens continued masters of Jerusalem till the year 1099, 
when it was taken by the Crusades — it is supposed that 
the Knights Templar received their present organized 
form from this circumstance— under Godfrey ot Bouil- 
lon; they founded a new kingdom, of which Jerusalem 
was the capitol, which lasted eighty-eight years, under 
nine kings ; at last this kingdom was utterly ruined by 
Saladin, and though the christians once more obtained 
possession of the city, they were again obliged to relin- 
quish it ; but in 1217 the Saracens were expelled by the 
Turks, who have ever since continued in possession of 



144 ilASoKKY, PAST, 

it. No other city in our world has ever suffered such a 
fate; seventeen times, says the Bible Dictiouary, p. 
349, it has been taken and pillaged, and millions of 
men slaughtered within its walls ; but still it is the 
proud memento to the fraternity, of unparalleled great- 
ness and granduer of former times ; and in nearly all 
the degrees pertaining to the order our attention is fre- 
quently directed to the overwhelming scenes that trans- 
pired on this consecrated spot, but always with profound 
awe and deep veneration. By the use of those glitter- 
ing symbols, the God of Israel employed to represent 
his glory, as long as he visibly abode in Jerusalem, 
and his chosen people were true to him, and the worship 
he had prescribed, as due to his holy name, as long as 
they kept faithfully, steadily a d perseveringly onward 
in their work, they were*un k-i the immediate protection 
of the Almighty. 

But when it to a great extent became idolatrous, 
the God of Abraham abandoned it to its fate, and it went 
down of its own weight. But modern travelers have 
within a few years, been on the very spot where once 
rose the temple, the admiration of the world— ruin and 
desolation, now, like the angel of death, reigns over all. 
But here lie still the mountains ; here the Valley of 
Jehosaphat — a very significant word in the third degree, 
it means judgment of God— Bible Dictionary, b. 340, 
—the brook Cedron, the Mount of Olives, Calvary, 
Mount Zion, and Mount Moriah, all looming up 
in awful grandeur, and looking down in frown- 
ing eontempt upon the ruin and desolation below. 
'1 hesc evidences of the greatness and power of Jerusa- 
lem, are permanent and unshaken as the everlasting me- 
mentoes of the truth and faithfulness of the God of 
Israel, who will never suffer his glory to be given to an- 
other. The Jews believe they will yet return to rebuild 
their city and their temple, and it is not impossible that 
some of the Masons, who have for so many years kept 
alive the mysterious forms, ceremonies and worship of 
their ancient temple, may go up with them, and again 



PRESEHT AKD FUTURE. 145 

see the glory of God as it was so strikingly manifest 
during the seven years of its erection. 

MOUNT MORIAH, 

Is nearly on a level with other parts of the city, and is 
occupied at present by the Mosque of Omar, which is 
on the very spot where the temple stood, and so sacred 
is this edifice in the eyes of the Turks, that no Christian 
is permitted to place his foot within its sacred enclosure 
on any pretence whatever. Although the elevation of 
this mountain, in modern times, has greatly disappeared, 
yet its position is beyond all controversy. To prepare 
it for the vast structure of the temple, says the Bible 
Dictionary, p. 352, Solomon inclosed the mountain by a 
stupendous wall, ot an average perpendicular hight of 
five hundred feet, filling up the intervening space be- 
tween the wall and the mountain, so as to form a spa- 
cious and level area for the temple and its extensive 
courts. Mount Zion is south-west of Moriah, and its 
present position and elevation correspond exactly with 
the most ancient records. The Jews at present call the 
whole mountain the Hill of Zion. Bible Dictionary, p. 
353, says : The south wall passes over Mount Zion, 
near its summit. The valleys north and west of Moriah 
at present are not very deep ; Calvary was only a small 
elevation on a greater hill, which is the north-west part of 
the city, but the name is given to the whole mountain. Up- 
on this holy mountain — Moriah — Adam was formed, as 
before remarked ; and from one of its lofty peaks Enoch 
ascended up into heaven, two thousand and five years 
before the temple was built. On this holy mountain, 
the Jews believed, that the visible presence of the Deity 
could always be seen. But to the fraternity he is eve- 
rywhere. Here Abraham offered up his son Isaac. 
Here the three lodges of Masons were opened and con- 
secrated to the service of the ever-living God. On this 
holy eminence Solomon built the temple. In 2d Chron- 
10 



14(3 MASONRY, PAST, 

icles, 3 : 1, it is said : Then Solomon began to build 
the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in Mount Moriah. 

DAVID 

Was the son of Jesse, of the the tribe of Judah, the fath- 
er of Solomon, born in Bethlehem — the same place where 
our Saviour was born— one thousand and eighty-five 
years before Christ. While quite a youth he was an- 
nointed king of Israel by Samuel. He was then about 
twenty two years of age. Soon after, he ascended the 
throne. He overthrew the Jebusites. wrested Jerusalem 
from them, and established his seat of government there. 
Great bravery, moral courage, and indomitable skill 
characterized all his actions. Divinely inspired, he was 
at first directed to build a house for the Lord. In this 
undertaking he was greatly assisted by the tribes of 
Benjamin and Judah. He commenced by leveling 
down the top of Mount Moriah, and- built a wall, says 
the Union Bible Dictionary, p. 446, fifteen hundred feet 
square and seven hundred high, and forty feet above the 
top of the mountain. This was a rocky precipice, but 
was inclosed by a wall and filled in, until it formed a 
level for the temple and its courts. Moriah is now al- 
most a plain, or level ground. It is occupied by an open 
court, fifteen hundred feet long and one thousand wide, 
surmounted by a high wall, and planted with trees. 
David collected an immense amount of the most costly 
materials for the house of the Lord, and, in his own lan- 
guage, 1 Chronicles, 22 : 14-16, says : Now, behold, 
in my troubles I have prepared for the house of the 
Lord a hundred thousand talents of gold, and a thousand 
thousand talents of silver, and of brass and iron without 
weight ; for it is in abundance. Timber and stone also 
have I prepared, and thou mayest add thereto. See the 
whole chapter: Arise, therefore, and be doing, and the 
Lord be with thee. Dr. Oliver, b. 1, p. 165, says : Da- 
vid was our first grand master. If so, lie must have had 
subordinate lodges working under his jurisdiction. The 
conclusion is then irresistible that Masonry existed in an 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 147 

organized form before Solomon's day. The cost of the 
temple, or the gold and silver collected by David for its 
erection, has been variously estimated. Dr. Oliver, b. 
2, p. 186, says : The incredible quantity of the pre- 
cious metals that were actually used in its construction, 
added to the wages of more than two hundred thou- 
sand workmen, appears extravagant. The edifice alone, 
as has been estimated, consumed more gold and'silver 
than at present exists upon the whole earth. It is as- 
serted by Prideanx that the treasure bequeathed by 
David alone excelled the riches of all the world ; in spe- 
cie, at the present day, altogether reaching to the in- 
credible amount of nine hundred million pounds ster- 
ling. The Bib e Dictionary, compiled under the 
immediate supervision of different denominations of 
Christians, p. 607, says : David collected what was 
equal to forty-eight thousand tons of gold and silver, or, 
as some have estimated the amount, thirty-five billion 
five hundred and twenty millions. Josephus, Disserta- 
tion 3, p. 630, says : A talent of gold is two thousand 
eight hundred and eighty dollars. This would make 
the amount of gold alone left by David two hundred and 
eighty-eight millions. Even the lowest estimate ever 
made of this magnificent building surpasses almost the 
powers of comprehension or belief. David furnished 
the design, plan, and location of the building, in all 
which he was divinely inspired. He reigned seven 
years and six months in Hebron — the place where John 
the Baptist was born, referred to hereafter — over the 
tribes of Judah, and thirty-three years in Jerusalem, 
but was not permitted to go on with the work, for rea- 
sons in the holy scriptures, and distinctly understood in 
the third degree of our work. He lived seventy years, 
died, and was buried by his son, Solomon in Jerusalem 
with great pomp and magnificence, one thousand and 
fourteen years before Christ. 

SOLOMON, 

King of Israel, was the son and successor of David. 



148 MASONRY, PAST., 

Soon after his birth, the prophet Nathan was sent by 
Divine 'authority to give him the name of Jedidiah, 
signifying the beloved of the Lord. He married the 
daughter of Pharoah, king of Egypt. His connexion 
with the royal family, the immense wealth received from 
the King of Tyre, the gifts, spoils and confiscation of 
crowned lands, and particulary taxes from every king- 
dom, he received the most costly gifts, the spoils of his 
enemies — the vineyards, olive trees, herds of Sharon, 
herds of the valleys, camels, apes, taxes from laborers, 
an extensive commerce by sea and by land, the vast ex- 
portation of horses and chariots from Egypt, together 
with the immense wealth left him by his father, swelled 
this amount, and made him the richest sovereign in the 
world. Not only his immense wealth, which is beyond 
the power of numbers almost to compute, he possessed 
the attributes of wisdom in a pre-eminent degree, un- 
eqnaled by any man living or that has ever existed since 
his day. And this most wonderful man, in all his attri- 
butes, was a free and accepted Mason, and the fraterni- 
ty throughout the world point to him as the Grand Mas- 
ter and patron of the order. 

INITIATION OF SOLOMON INTO THE MYSTERIES OF MASONRY. 

The exact date is unknown, but it was not, according 
to our present rule, before he was of lawful age, doubt- 
less soon after he became acquainted with the manners 
and customs of Egyptian law, with what unparalleled 
skill the fraternity had erected some of the most mag- 
nificent structures in the world, for no one doubts in 
this enlightened age of deep research, that Freemasonry, 
according to Br. Rockwell, dates its origin to the for- 
gotten ages of the world's history to the Egytian myste- 
ries. At all events he was Divinely inspired, and it 
appears to us he must have been a Mason before he 
commenced the building of the temple, that he was in- 
troduced into and made acquainted with the mysteries 
of the order ; and the probability is, David, his father, 
Hiram, king of Tyre, and others equally qualified, as- 



PRESENT AKD FUTURE. 149 

slsted in this sacred service. Did the God of Israel 
know that Solomon was a Mason, that he belonged to a 
secret society, mysterious in all of its elements and 
wonderful in design and execution ? Did he ever re- 
prove him for belonging to a society so fraught with 
danger to the community and the church, as is said by 
our enemies ? Never, because no such thing ever exist- 
ed. Infinite wisdom designed, an Omniscient eye in- 
spected the materials, the work, and every department 
of the building. We are but the humble imitators of 
this glorious design. A new era now dawns upon our 
history. An organization more grand and glorious than 
anything that had preceded it, is completed. Her work- 
men are arranged in the most ample order ; none but 
the must skillful artists, faithful and true, were employ- 
ed. Secret mysteries introduced, peculiar to themselves, 
while at work, and used as signs of recognition when 
they traveled abroad. The geometrical figures and em- 
blems employed by Seth, mentioned by Josephus, in 
building those mysterious pillars in the land of Sirad, 
two thousand three hundred and seventy years before 
Solomon's day, and the nine arches of Enoch, imbedded 
one hundred feet below the surface, on Mount Moriah, 
were carefully examined, and their emblematical lan- 
guage perfectly understood and were introduced into 
the work of the temple with such imposing forms and 
ceremonies that it was impossible that their true mean- 
ing could be misapprehended or forgotten, and has never 
been misunderstood by the fraternity to the present day. 
It will be recollected that the point within a circle, the 
triangle, the globe, the deacon's rod, borne before the 
Grand Master, an emblem of absolute power, the square, 
the compasses, the plumb, the level, the net work, the lily 
work, the pomegranite, and many other emblems of sig- 
nificant meaning, were found in the Pyramids of Egypt, 
and some of them built before the flood. And this 
method of instruction will constitute the landmarks of 
the order forever. If a grand or subordinate lodge 
adopt any other system of instruction, it would cease to 



150 MASONRY, PAST, 

exist and not be recognized by the fraternity in any 
part of the world. 

MARRIAGE OF SOLOMON. 

No authentic record the author has been enabled to 
find, gives any minute circumstance of this ceremony, 
but it he adopted the usages of the Egyptians, into 
whose family he married, it must have been grand and 
imposing. The journal of our American missionaries, 
containing an account of a wedding in Greece, savs : 
at midnight, precisely, it was commenced, in the very 
language of the r cripture, Behold the bridegroom cometh, 
go ye out to meet him. A thousand chariots not un fre- 
quently accompanied some of the eastern kings in their 
marriage ceremonies to the palace of his royal bride, 
each bearing a lighted torch ; heralds going before cry- 
ing out, Behold the bridegroom cometh. ' This custom 
still prevails in many provinces throughout Egypt. The 
probability is, Solomon pursued a similar course, this 
would comport with his royal dignity and add much to 
his renown in the eyes of Pharaoh, his father in law, 
and all the nobility of Egypt. Most of his wives were 
the daughters of noblemen and princes, and more for a 
princely display according to the custom of eastern na- 
tions, than anything else. 

NAVY OF SOLOMON. 

It is a mistake to suppose that geometry, astronomy, 
navigation, and the arts, were but little understood by 
the ancient Egyptians. Solomon himself had the con- 
trol, and received the exclusive benefit of the navy of 
Tarshish, and the navy of Hiram, bringing gold, silver, 
ivory and peacocks, which took a voyage of three years 
to perform. A description of one of those ships of Tar- 
shish, is given by Athenaesus, a very ancient writer, 
and quoted in the Union Bible Dictionary, p. 574, says: 
was nearly five hundred feet in length and sixty in 
breadth, upwards of four thousand rowers, and at least 
three thousand other persons were employed in the nav- 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 151 

igation of it. The Phoenicians were principally con- 
cerned in it, and had ports of their own in almost every 
country, the most famous was Carthage, and Tarshish, 
in Spain, and those ships capable of performing this 
vovage, were called the ships of Tarshish. And in ad- 
dition to Solomon's vast commerce by sea and land, 
every man brought gold, silver, garments of armor, 
spices, horses and mules. So King Solomon ex- 
ceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and 
wisdom, and all the earth sought Solomon to hear 
his wisdom, which God had put into his heart, — 1 Kings, 
10, 23, 24, 25. 

CAVALRY OF SOLOMON. 1 

And Solomon gathered together chariots and horse- 
men, and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots. 
and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in 
the cities fbr chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem. — 
1 King3, 10, 26. And Solomon had horses brought out 
of Egvpt, and linen yarn, and the king's merchants re- 
ceived them at a price, and a chariot wenr. up and came 
out of Egypt for six hundred shekels. This wise sov- 
ereign now commenced preparation for the building the 
temple, which should surpass for costliness of materials 
and elegance of workmanship, every other building in 
the world. 

PRAYER OF SOLOMON", AND THE ANSWER. I KINGS, 3d CHAP., 
9th AND INCLUDING 14th VERSES. 

9. Give therefore my servant an understanding heart, 
to judge thy people, that I may discern between good 
and bad ; for who is able to judge this thy so great a 
people? 

10. And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon 
had asked this thing. 

11. And God said unto him, because thou hast asked 
this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life, neither 
hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of 



152 MASONEY, PAST, 

thine enemies, but hast asked for thyself understanding 
to discern judgment. 

12. Behold, I have done according to thy word ; lo, 
I have given thee a wise and understanding heart, so 
that there was none like thee before hee, neither after 
thee shall any arise like unto thee. 

13. And I have also given thee that which thou hast 
not asked, both riches and honor ; so that there shall not 
be any among the Kings like unto thee, all thy days. 

14. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my 
Statutes and my Commandments, as thy father David 
did walk, then I will lengthen thy days. 

This stupendous edifice was absolutely Masonic in all 
its features. Infinite wisdon contrived, an Omniscient 
Eye inspected the materials, the workmanship, and 
every department of the Temple from its commencement 
to its final completion. Masonry has had the honor of 
rearing the first temple ever erected to God, and dedica- 
ted to his holy name in our world. Solomon was our 
Grand Master, under the immediate direction of the 
Almighty, the Supreme Architect of the Universe. Are 
any prepared to gainsay or set aside this truth ? He was 
nearly four years in preparing the materials and over 
three in putting them together. A glance at the places 
where they were prepared may not be out of order. 

THE FORESTS OF LEBANON 

Were selected for the wooden portions of the building. 
They are an elevated range of mountains in Syria, north 
of Palestine,, pursuing nearly the course of the Mediter- 
ranean. It abounds with lofty cedars forty and fifty 
feet in circumference, and more than a hundred feet 
hiiih. This was the kind of timber principally used in 
the construction of the temple, not only on account of 
its balsamic odors, but for their great durability. Some 
of them, says a modern traveler, have been known to 
last more than two thousand years. Mr. Fisk, an Amer- 
ican Missionary, visited Lebanon in 1823, says: Even 
the few cedars that remain may well be called the glory 



PEESEJSTT AN"D EUTUKE. 153 

of Lebanon. Mandrell measured one of them which 
was thirty-six feet in circumference, and one hundred 
and eleven feet in the spread of its branches. Another 
traveler describes the mountains of Lebanon and its 
scenery thus : the highest elevation is to the south-east 
of Tripoli, and their summits capped with clouds and 
snow are discerned at the distance of thirty leagues, 90 
miles. Here nature displays all her loveliness, beauty 
and grandeur, here Solomon ordered the timbers to be 
fell and prepared. Now, therefore command thou that 
they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanan ; my servants 
shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea. 1 
Kings, 5: 6-9. 

ZAKETAN. 

It is well known to the fraternity that the stone were 
squared, hewed and numbered here. It is a small place 
on the west bank of the river Jordan, where the Israel- 
ites crossed when they entered the land of Canaan, and 
the waters were gathered into a heap, not far from the 
Sea of Tiberas. 

JOPPA. 

No master Mason can mistake this allusion in our 
work. It is one of the oldest towns in Asia, situated on 
a sandy promontory, jutting out into the sea from the 
eastern coast of the Mediterranean, between Csesarea and 
Gaza, and about thirty miles north-east from Jerusa- 
lem. Three of its sides are washed by the sea. It is the 
principal seaport of the land of Judah, and of great com- 
mercial importance to Egypt, Ethiopia, and many other 
nations. Messrs. Fisk and King lodged there in the 
spring of 1823, in the very house, tradition says, where 
Simon the tanner lived. Persons from Jerusalem, going 
to Ethiopia, took shipping here, a distance, probably, of 
more than a thousand miles. 



154 MASONRY, PAST, 



CHAPTER XII. 

TwoTillars — Hiram, King of Tyre — Ground Floor of the Temple 
— Middle Chamber — Sanctum Sanctorum — Solomon discovers the 
Nine Arches — Conceals the Ark of the Covenant — Dedication of 
the Temple. 

TWO PILLARS OF BRASS. 

Referred to 2 Chron. 3 15, were cast on the Plains of 
Jordan, in the clay ground between Snccoth and Zare- 
tan, 1 Kings, 7, 46, this memorable spot, as near as can be 
ascertained, is not far from where Abram pitched li is 
tent, on his return irom Mesopotamia. The design and 
execution of these wonderful pillars was purely Masonic; 
superintended by Solomon, our Grand Master, and fin- 
ished under the immediate inspection of Hiram. King 
Tyre, and other celebrated artists. We have, generally 
in our work, considered their dimensions, including the 
chapters, to be forty cubics high, or sixty feet, their 
thickness about four inches, and their circumference, 
according to Josephus, B. 8, chap. 3, p. 167, was twelve 
cubits or eighteen feet; but how these immense pillars 
and stones, weighing several hundred tons, were carried 
up to Jerusalem by land, a distance of nearly thirty 
miles, we have no means of judging; but it is not the 
enormous size, the material or the curious workmanship 
that most interests the intelligent Mason, but the design 
appears to have been to commemorate their deliverance 
from Egyptian bondage, and such we believe is the 
object the fraternity has in view, when our attention is 
directed to them in our work. 

Hiram, King of Tyre, 1 King 7, 13 14, we are told : 
And King Solomon sent and fetched Hiram outof Tyre. 
He was a widow's son of the tribe of Naphpatali ; and 
his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass, and he 
was filled with wisdom and understanding, and cunning 
to work all works in brass, and he came to Solomon and 
wrought all his work, i. e. that portion assigned him in 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 155 

i 

the temple. He was cotemporary with David and Solo- 
mon, and on terms of the strictest political and personal 
friendship with them : under his reign the city of Tyre 
became celebrated for its wealth and magnificence, and 
the vast supplies he furnished the kings of .Israel show 
the greatness of his resources; and Hiram sent to the 
Xing, six score talents of gold, 1 Kings, 9, 14, about 
$345,^00. He was an eminent artist, and employed by 
Solomon on some of the most difficult and costly fixtures 
and furniture of the temple. Jospphus says, b. 8, chap. 
2, p. 165, the copies of this epistle, sent by Solomon to 
the King of Tyre, remain in the original hand-writing 
of Solomon, in the public records of Tyre to this day, 
and also are preserved in our books ; there can be no 
doubt, we think, that Hiram was a Mason previous to 
this, and a member of the fraternity of his day, because 
the Tynans were the most celebrated artists in the world, 
and none but those who had been initiated into the sub- 
lime mysteries of the order could get employment in 
building a house for God. He stood at the head of his 
profession in his own kingdom ; besides the peculiar 
and delicate business entrusted to his care, not only 
taught him. how to make the materials and golden ves- 
sels for the temple, but the necessity of explaining their 
use, the appropriate and mystical reference of each, 
which would be impossible for him to do, if he did not 
belong to the fraternity ; it is certain, in our lodges he 
is considered second only to Solomon, himself, and on 
all difficult occasions, the confidential adviser of his 
sovereign, and intimate friend, perfectly familiar with 
the most valuable secrets, understood the internal work 
of the temple in all its mysterious relations, in all its 
sublime and holy teachings, never given to the world 
and never will be. 

THE GROUND FLOOR OF THE TEMPLE 

"Was of the finest marble, surrounded by a beautiful 
tesselated border ot fine gold, equisitely wrought. This 
part of the temple was costly, dazzling, and splendid be- 



156 MASONRY, PAST, 

yond description ; the floor of the house, we are told, 
l'Kings, 6, 30, he overlaid with gold, within and with- 
out. Is it possible, within these consecrated walls, with 
all this dazzling splendor around him, the wisest man 
and the most celebrated artists in the world to assist in 
the ceremony, the entered apprentice was initiated into 
those sublime mysteries hidden forever from the scruti- 
nizing gaze of the world, and so faithfully transmitted 
through the long roll of ages, that here he was made 
acquainted with the first elements of Masonry, and 
taught those high and holy principles of religion that 
must be his guide through life, that he must apply him- 
self assiduously to his new protession, before he could 
receive anyihing more than an entered apprentice's 
wages. In the second degree a new scene opened before 
the enraptured gaze of candidate ; the explanation of 
every symbol was religious, solemn and impressive, and 
carried with it the irresistible conclusion of the great 
antiquity of this degree, and that no man, unaided by 
inspiration, could have ever originated or introduced a 
system so grand and glorious, including all that is neces- 
sary for our well-being, here and hereafter ; the expla- 
nation given to the candidate, by a skillful workman, is 
unsurpassed in sublimity, we think, by anything except 
in some of the higher degrees. 

MIDDLE CHAMBER. 

Here the wonders of creation were unfolded and 
opened before the aspirant, the motion of the heavenly 
bodies explained, and their order, the physical laws by 
which the Supreme Architect governs the universe, the 
principles of science, morality and pure religion, the 
most solemn and deeply interesting truths were inculca- 
ted with a moral power that never could be forgotten, 
and the more he could comprehend those sublime mys- 
teries by intense study and application, the nearer he 
would be assimilated to the likeness of God. Here he 
could more readily understand why Masonry was insti- 
tuted in the early ages of the world, to keep alive and 



PRESENT AND EUTtJEE. 157 

glowing upon hearts, the worship due to the only one 
living and true God. 

■SANCTUM SANCTORUM 

Was costly and magnificent, beyond the power of lan- 
guage to describe ; it was covered over with plates of 
pure gold, the furniture, the ark and the cherubim were 
formed of the same precious metal. All the aspirant 
had witnessed in the preceding degrees, were but faint 
preludes to tbe august and overwhelming scenes that 
burst upon his vision ; he was taught inflexible integrity, 
and a firm reliance upon the God of his fathers would 
be his safest guide through the dreary pathway of life • 
this momentous truth was enstamped upon the mind 
with a force and moral sublimity that never could be 
effaced while he had a heart to feel, or a mind to appre- 
ciate the glorious design of our forefathers in instituting 
this degree, which nowhere else can be found in our 
world. There were many emblems and symbols ex- 
plained to the candidate, which never can be committed 
to paper, but all tend to enforce some of the most sub- 
lime and deeply interesting truths that have ever trans- 
pired in the annals of our race, or that ever will ; then 
brethren, amid the instability of human affairs, where 
everything else is changing and passing from our view, 
let us toil on, a better home, and a brighter Heaven 
awaits our arrival in the Grand Lodge above. 

The following remarks relative to King Solomon's 
temple cannot be uninteresting to a Royal Arch Mason : 

This famous fabric was situated on Mount Moriah, 
near the place where Abraham was about to offer up his 
son Isaac, and where David met and appeased the de- 
stroying angel who was visible over the threshing floor 
of Oman the Jebusite. It was begun in the fourth year 
of the reign of Solomon, the third after the death of Da- 
vid, four hundred and eighty years after the passage of 
the Red Sea, and on the second day of the month Zif, 
being the second month of the sacred year, which an- 
swers to the twenty-first of April, in the the year of the 



158 MASONRY, PAST., 

world two thousand nine hundred and ninety-two, and 
was carried on with such prodigious speed that it was 
finished in all its parts in little more than seven years. 
By the Masonic art and the wise regulations of Solo- 
mon, this famous edifice was erected without the sound 
of the axe, hammer, or any tool of iron ; for the stones 
were all hewed, squared and numbered in the quarries 
of Zeredathah where they were raised ; the timbers were 
felled and prepared in the forest of Lebanon, and con- 
veyed by sea in floats to Joppa, and from thence by 
land to Jerusalem, where the fabric was erected by the 
assistance of wooden instruments prepared for that pur- 
pose. And when the building was finished, its several 
parts fitted with such exact nicety that it had more the 
appearance of being the handiwork of the Supreme Ar- 
chitect of the universe than of human hands. 

SOLOMON DISCOVERS THE NINE ARCHES OF ENOCH. 

For this purpose, says Dr. Oliver, b. 1, p. 419, he 
commissioned three of his chief and most trustworthy 
officers to explore that part of the mountain where the 
vestiges of ruins had formerly been found, with private 
instructions to communicate the success of their labors 
to none but himself. After unwearied toil, accident 
brought them to the identical spot, as we are informed 
by the voice of Masonic tradition, where Enoch had 
built his nine perpendicular arches. At length they de- 
scended into the ninth cavern, where, at .a depth of 
nearly one hundred feet below the surface, they discov- 
ered things of incalculable benefit to the craft. The 
treasure was removed and placed in a secure depository 
within the king's private chapel, beneath the sanctum 
sanctorum of the temple, which was connected with the 
palace by a subterranean avenue of arches, supported 
by pillars — see Bro. Mackey's Lexicon, p. 136 of the 
Pillars — but the entrance was known to none but him- 
self. 

It will be remembered that Enoch was taken up into 
heaven, accordiug to Josephus, in the year of the world 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 159 

nine hundred and eighty seven, and the foundation of 
the temple was laid in the year of the world two thou- 
sand nine hundred and ninety-two. Some of the sub- 
lime mysteries, then, were concealed from the world 
two thousand and five years. And if 1 his discovery had 
never been made, would the temple have been finished 
in all its parts, and the royal arch degree be complete % 
But the Supreme Architect bad these invaluable treas- 
ures deposited there, and he watched over and carefully 
guarded everything, and caused them, in due time, to 
be brought to light, that would be of any use in building 
a house for himself. And this wh >le scene appears as 
well authenticated as any event that has come down to 
us on the pages of history, and is no more mysterious 
than a thousand other things connected with the temple. 

SOLOMON CONCEALS THE ARK OF THE COVENANT. 

Dr. Oliver says — b. 1, p. 424, note 19 — the old tradi- 
tions of Masonry relate, that Solomon being afraid that 
the Jews would not retain their faith steadfast in Jeho- 
vah, but would apostatize from his worship, and thus 
cause the destruction of the temple and the city, and the 
captivity of the tribes, he constructed an arched vault, 
or subterranean passage, leading from the most private 
apartments of his palace to a crypt or secret place under 
the holiest of holies, that the ark and other sacred uten- 
sils, might there be preserved from destruction. This 
vault, or passage, was divided into nine separate com- 
partments, the first communicating with the palace by 
a winding or spiral staircase, and the last opening into the 
sacred crypt. They were constructed by men careful- 
ly selected from amongst the Gibeonites, well skilled 
in the arts and sciences, particularly in carving and 
sculpture. They were placed under the direction of 
Adoniram, and worked only when the common masons 
had retired from their labors, viz, from nine to twelve 
o'clock at night, that the existence of the passage might 
remain a secret from the world, except the three Grand 
Masters and the four and twenty Phoenician workmen. 



160 MASONRY, PAST, 

In St. James Chronicle, April 9th, 1342, it is stated—* 
an American missionary at Jerusalem, has recently been 
exploring the vaults under the mosque of Omar, the 
very spot where the temple of Solomon once stood. He 
is decidedly ot the opinion they are not Roman, but the 
original secrets of Solomon's Temple. "What these 
sublime mysteries were, have never been given to the 
world, but carefully preserved and faithfully handed 
down to us, and distinctly understood by the fraternity 
this day. "Without this connecting link, the history of 
Masonry would be incomplete. In the Free Mason's 
Quarterly Review, 1835, p. 160, we are informed that 
these men were a body of architects and engineers, who 
were previously employed in the erection of temples, 
theatres and stadia. These, together with the sacred 
mysteries, the emigrants carried with them into Asia, 
where, after some years, the arts flourished with a pros- 
perity unequaled and unknown in the world. These 
men, after the temple was completed, were very numer- 
ous in Asia Minor, Syria^ Persia, and India. They were 
distinguished from the profane and uninitiated by their 
science and skill in architecture, by appropriate words 
and signs by which they could recognize their brethren 
in all parts of the globed They were divided into dif- 
ferent lodges, distinguished by different names, possess- 
ed of distinct jurisdictions, and each separate associa- 
tion was under the superintendence of a master and ward- 
ens. In Cross' M's Chart, p. 90, we are told, for this 
purpose our traditions, says, Solomon introduced the de- 
gree of the most excellent Master. None, however, but 
those who had been inducted into the oriental chair of 
Solomon, by the unanimous suffrage of their brethren, 
can be admitted into this degree of Masonry. "When 
the temple was completed and the cap stone celebrated 
with great joy, none were admitted to this degree except 
such as had proved themselves worthy by their virtue, 
skill and inflexible fidelity to the cralt. The duties of a 
Most Excellent Master, were such that he should have a 
perfect knowledge of all the preceding degrees. To the 



'PRESENT and future. 161 

desciples of Freemasonry, says an eminent writer, quo- 
ted by Dr. Oliver, b. 1, 426, note 26, are our fellow coun- 
trymen indebted for most of those splendid and majes- 
tic structures, which even at the present day, point their 
aspiring dome3 towards the Heaven of Heavens, and 
beneath which man breathes his prayers of peace and 
gladness, and to their predecessor in the craft mankind 
are indebted for those stupendous monuments of human 
skill — the Pyramids of Egypt, though many thousands 
of years have passed away. Still exist the temples of 
Memphis, Helipolis, and Thebes, whose collosal ruins 
are to this day the wonder and admiration of the 
traveler. Persipolis, with its splendid palatial edifices, 
Babylon and her hanging gardens, Ninevah with her 
mighty walls, Balbeck and Palmyra, still majestic in 
ruins, the labyrinths of Egypt, Crete, and Lemnos, and 
the marble glories of Greece, whose beauties a bright 
shadow cast and shed a halo around the mighty past. 

The above traditional and historical facts are but re- 
iterating the remarks we have so often made in the pro- 
gress of these pages, and from some of the most celebra- 
ted authors in the world, that Masonry existed in some 
organized form thousands of years before Solomon's day, 
and from those stupendous works of art and sublime 
mysteries, he received the elements and embodied them 
into a more perfect system in building the temple. 

\ 

THE DEDICATION OF THE TEMPLE. NATIONAL RELIGION ES- 
TABLISHED, THE GLORIOUS PRESENCE OF THE SHEKINAH. 

This was one of the most august assemblages of Ma- 
sons that ever took place in our world. On that ever 
memorable occasion, more than one hundred and fifty 
thousand of the fraternity were present. The pillars of 
brass were raisod up in front of the temple. The gold- 
en vessels brought from the banks of Jordan, arranged 
in the most ample order ; the ark of the covenant, with 
solemn pomp and great rejoicing, was deposited in the 

11 



163 MASONRY, PAST, 

most holy place — 1 Kings, 8 : 1, 6 — under the wings of 
the Cherubim. All things being now ready, it was ded- 
icated to the worship of the ever-living God, one thou- 
sand and five years before Christ, in the month Bui, the 
end of our October, two thousand eight hundred and 
sixty-five years ago. The ting himself presided in per- 
son ; the high officers of state, the order of priesthood, 
amid the assembled thousands of Israelites, added to 
the solemnity of the scene. The language of our grand 
master was equal to the occasion, and the act was ac- 
companie with the greatest magnificence that Hiram, 
king of Tyre, the sovereigns and nations of the world 
could display. Glorious and truly sublime must have 
been this scene to the young king, clothed in the robes 
of royalty, officiating as high priest, before this immense 
crowd. The altar, dazzling with gold and sparkling with 
the most costly gems, while the thousand ot Levites and 
priests, arranged in ancient form, on the east side, habi- 
ted in surpluses, (regalia,) with harps, cymbals, and 
trumpets in their hands directed the eye of that vast 
multitude to the highly polished pillars of molten brass 
before the door of the temple now thrown open, and dis- 
playing the interior brilliantly lighted up, while the bur- 
nished gold of the floor, the ceiling, the walls, with pre- 
cious gems, reflecting the strong light on the sides, from 
tjhe golden lamps,that threw their dazzling splen< or before 
the enraptured gaze of the awe stricken multitude, all 
combined would have completely overwhelmed the im- 
agination, amid the bewildering and astounding scenes 
that burst upon their view ; and this was much enhanced 
by the embroidered veil that partly concealed the more 
awful glories of the mobt holy place. Captivating must 
have been the din of the instruments of four thousand 
Levites, led on by the priests, with one hundred and 
twenty trumpets directing the chorus of this immense 
congregation as they chanted the sublime melodies of 
the royal psalmist in the grand intonations of the He- 
brew language, like the rolling of many waters. Lift 
up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lifted up, ye ever- 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 163 

lasting doors, aud the King of Glory shall come in. — 
Psalms, 24: T. 

PRATER OF SOLOMON, 

2d Chronicles, 6th chapter, commencing at the 12th 
verse and including the 21st. 

And he stood before the altar of the Lord, in the 
presence of the congregation of Israel, and spread forth 
his hands : for Solomon had made a brazen scafFold of 
five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits 
high, and had set it in the midst of the court ; and upon 
it he stood and kneeled down upon his knees before all 
the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands 
towards heaven, and said, 

O Lord God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the 
heaven, nor in the earth ; which keepest covenant, and 
she west mercy unto thy servants that walk before thee 
with all their hearts : thou which has kept with thy ser- 
vant David my father that which thou hast promised 
him ; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it 
with thine hand, as it is this day. Now therefore, O 
Lord God of Israel, keep with thy servant David, my 
father that which thou hast promised him, saying, There 
shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the 
throne of Israel ; yet so that thy children take heed to 
their way, to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before 
me. Now then, O Lord God of Israel, let thy word be 
verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David. 
But, will God in very deed dwell with men on the 
earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens can- 
not contain thee; how much less this house which I 
have built ! Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy 
servant, and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to bar- 
ken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant 
prayeth before thee ; that thine eyes may be open upon 
this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou 
hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to 
hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth to- 
wards this place. 



184 MASONRY, PAST, 

Hearken therefore unto the supplications of thy ser- 
vant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make 
towards this place : hear thou from thy dwelling place, 
even from heaven ; and when thou nearest, forgive. 

THE ANSWER TO SOLOMON'S PRAYER. 

And the Lord said unto him, I have heard thy prayer 
and thy f upplication that thou hast made before me : I 
have hallowed this house which thou hast built, to put 
my name there for ever, and mine eyes and mine heart 
shall be there perpetually. 

THE PRESENCE OE THH SHEEINAH IN THE TEMPLE. 

Now when Solmon had made an end of praying, the 
fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt 
offering and the sacrifices ; and the glory of the Lord 
filled the house. 

2. And the priests could not enter into the house of 
the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the 
Lord's house. 

3. And when all the children of Israel saw how the 
fire came down, and the glory of the Lord upon the 
house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the 
ground upon the pavement, and worshipped and praised 
the Lord, saying, for he is good ; for bis mercy endureth 
for ever. 

We have given but a very brief sketch of this Ma- 
sonic edifice, erected entirely by Masons ; the first 
temple in our world dedicated to the worship of the 
ever living God, as it was erected in the days of Solo- 
mon, built on Mount Moriah, overlooking from this 
proud eminence, the kingdoms of Judah and Palestine. 
No language can give an adequate description of its 
dazzling splendor, covered with gold within and with- 
out; and the sun in his firery course has never poured 
his broad beams of light upon so proud a monument 
of splendid glory, that surpassed every other structure 
in the world. If sacred history had not informed us 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 185 

otherwise, it would be supposed the whole temple was 
made of pure gold; to the fraternity belonged these 
costly materials, to them was entrusted the exquisite 
workmanship of this stately edifice, to them was -as- 
signed, under the immediate inspection of the Almighty, 
the glorious task, and well did they fulfill their trust ; 
they were endowed with supernatural skill to work in 
gold, silver and brass, unknown in the world before, 
assigning to each its appropriate name and place, for 
the most sacred and holy purpose. And was not the 
service performed in the temple religion, and the whole 
arrangement of Divine origin? Did not Solomon re- 
ceive his appointment from the Deity himself? And 
every facility that infinite wisdom could suggest was 
freely given, and urged to go forward in his work ; to 
him was entrusted the sublime mysteries which forever 
had been concealed from the world. And was not 
Solomon a Mason? And are we not endeavoring to 
execute the trust reposed in us, and imitate, though fee- 
bly it may be, the glorious example set us by our Grand 
Master ! Admit that the whole system, its object, de- 
sign, and execution of temple worship was ot Divine 
appointment, then the argument that we are not a re- 
ligious institution, in our organization and elements of 
belief, falls to the ground ; was there any other true 
religion in Solomon's day than what he practiced ? Did 
not our ancient brethren worship in the temple, — the 
tabernacle was a place of worship, but it was a repre- 
sentation of the temple — and was not this religion ; was 
not this accepted, when the glory of the Lord filled the 
house with his visible presence? The religion of the 
temple did not consist in the costliness, delicacy and ex- 
quisite workmanship of the golden vessels, not in the 
dazzling splendor of their arraagement, reflecting the 
light in one broad blaze of glory, from the golden can- 
dlestick,— it is said, in the Bible Dictionary, p. 136, that 
the candlestick alone was worth three millions of dollars 
— the altar, the floor, the ceiling, everything covered 
with gold ; not in the symbols, trumpets, and the thous- 



166 MASONKY, PAST, 

sand singers united in chanting the praises of God ; not 
in any or all of these abstractly, though they were grand 
accompaniments. But the religion of the temple con- 
sisted in the deep breathing of the soul, in communion 
with tha Holy One, in its loftiest aspirations, in ascrip- 
tions of praise to the God of Israel, which is always an 
acceptable service to Him. This was the only true re- 
ligion that struggled against the darkness oi Paganism, 
for more than four thousand years, until the days of our 
Saviour, who did not repudiate, but taught and sanc- 
tioned, on all proper occasions, these sublime and noble 
principles. He did not come to destroy the law or the 
prophets, but to fulfill. Is there any other God, than 
the God of the Bible? Have we any other religion than 
what the book of nature and the volume of inspiration 
teaches? Is there anything immoral or irreligious in 
this? Do we not worship the true God, according to 
our conscience and the best light we have? Is reading 
God's holy word, prayer, and praise in singing the song 
of Zion, religion? Then we are emphatically and abso- 
lu'ely a religions body, because we invariably practice 
the solemn services in some or all the degrees, 

EMBLEMS AND SYMBOLS OF THE ORDER. 

There are more than two hundred and fifty up to, and 
including the Knights Tempjar degree in the temple 
worship, understood distinctly by us, and to which we 
have invariably adhered ; and not one of them but si- 
lently and positively teach some of the great elements 
of moral and religious truth ; to be convinced of this, 
our lodges are opened when we are not at work, and any 
brother, sufficiently skilled, will take great pleasure in 
explaining them ; this is no infringement upon our sa- 
cred rights ; what is given to the world is no secret. 
The religion of Masonry, says Bro. Mackey, Editor of 
the Masonic Review, than whom no man is a better 
judge, vol. 2, No. 1, p. 77, is the universal, eternal, im- 
mutable religion ; such as God planted in the heart of 
universal humanity ; its ministers are all Masons, who 



PEESENT AND FUTUKE. 167 

comprehend it, and are devoted to it ; its offerings to 
God, are good works, the sacrifice of the base and dis- 
orderly passions, and perpetual efforts to attain to all the 
moral perfections of which man is capable. The Apos- 
tle James, 1, 26 27, says, if any man among you seem 
to be religious, and bridleth not his tougue, but decieveth 
his own heart, this man's religion is vain. Pure religion 
and undefiled before God and the Father, is this, to visit 
the fatherless and widow in their affliction, to keep him- 
self unspotted from the world. Did not the Apostle 
meau, that we should not be spotted with bigotry, su- 
perstition, idolatry, false religion in priest craft. This is 
our religion; but our alms, as far as they can be, are 
always done in secret; the Holy Bible has taught us, 
not to let our left hind know what our right hand doeth, 
though we have funds set apart exclusively for the 
widows and orphans, in nearly all the grand and subor- 
dinate lodges throughout the world, yet grief is often 
assuaged, tears wiped dry, comforts administered by 
hands unseen and , unknown. — let the the thousands of 
widows and orphans rising up all over the land to call 
us blessed, testify, — But the wisdom that is from above 
is first, pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be en- 
treated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, 
and without hypocricy, James 3, 17. But the holy- 
aspirations of the heart in communion with God, are too 
sacred for us to prescribe how, or where this worship 
shall be performed ; and is not that religion offered to 
God, in the sincerity of souls, in the lodge room, or 
acceptable to the Deity, as any where else on earth as 
in Heaven. 

And the man who has no mind or disposition to ap- 
preciate the solemn realities of our holy religion, and 
becomes a member .of the order through vain, visionary, 
or speculative purposes, is no more a Mason than a 
hypocrite is a Christian. They are but dead weights to 
us, and the world is no better than if they had never 
lived in it. 

Again, nowhere in our world is brotherly love more 



If 8 MASONRY, PAST, 

strikingly exemplified than in a good working lodge. 
Can any tine religion exist without it? Impossible; 
love is the fulfilling of the law. Fear God and keep his 
commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. Does 
the Holy Bible teach anything else? If it does not. then 
we are right in claiming, as Bro. Mackey says, Masonry 
is a religious institution. But space will not allow us 
to dwell. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Solomon's reign — Zedekiah — Nebuchadnezzar — Destruction of the 
temple — Babylon. 

SOLOMON. 

After reigning forty years in Jerusalem, and at the 
age of ninety, he began making preparations for closing 
his earthly lodge for that upper and better one in the 
world above. He resigned his government as king of 
Israel, and entrusted the care of the grand lodge to his 
son Rehoboam, and his soul took its flight into that 
world of glorified spirits, surrounded by all the flaming 
hosts of God. Rehoboam reigned thirty-four years after 
the death of his father, until the temple was plundered 
by Sheshach, King of Egypt. It is said in 1 Kings, 
14: 26, he took away the treasures of the house of the 
Lord. He even took away all the shields of gold which 
Solomon had made. The scripture account of this inva- 
sion is confirmed in the most satisfactory manner by the 
recent discovery in Egypt. Upon a round colonade at 
Thebes is a representation of Sheshach, dragging at the 
feet of the Egyptian g< ds more than thirty vanquished 
kingdoms, among which is written at full length, in the 
Oriental language, The Kingdom of Judah, and other 
embleti.s and hieroglyph ical characters give a full de- 
scription of the famed cities mentioned in 2 Chronicles, 
12 : 4. These mouldering ruins exhibit also various ed- 
ifices of a strange and mysterious sculpture, purely ma- 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 169 

sonic, commemorative of the victory over the Jews, and 
the conquered Rehoboam is still preserved after a lapse 
of two thousand seven hundred years. Bible Dictiona- 
ry, p. 575. These golden vessels, by the order of the 
Almighty, were finally restored, and the temple again 
held the proud eminence as mistress of the world, and 
stood forth in all of its former magnificence and grand- 
eur, as a place for the worship of the true God. 

ZEDEKIAH 

Was the last king who reigned in Jerusalem before it 
was finally overthrown. He was an idolater, cruel, ma- 
lignant, and extremely vicious in his character, and for 
this cause the prophet Jeremiah was directed by the Al- 
mighty to inform him that Jerusalem would be destroyed, 
and I will give this city into the hands of Babylon, and he 
shall burn it with fire, Jeremiah, 34 : 2. In the 11th year of 
his reign, on the ninth day of the fourth month, answer- 
ing to our July, Jerusalem was taken. Zedekiah and 
his nobles endeavored to escape by night, but were 
overtaken near the plains of Jericho. Nebuchadnezzar 
caused his children to be slain before his face, put out 
the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of 
brass and carried him to Babylon. 2 Kings, 25 : 7. 

NEBUCHADNEZZAR, KING OF BABYLON, 

Lived about six hundred years before the birth of our 
Saviour ; and with an immense army he encircled Je- 
rusalem, as with a wall of fire, and commenced an in- 
discriminate slaughter of all ages and.eexes unknown in 
the world. The siege lasted eighteen months, the holy 
city at last fell, the magnificent temple burned, and 
those who escaped the general massacre were carried 
into captivity. And it is remarkable that the chains 
which bound the inhabitants of Jerusalem as they es- 
caped from their burning city were of a triangular form, 
always represented in the temple as an emblem of God 
or eternity. This, doubtless, was designed as a stigma 
upon the worship of the temple and the God of A bra- 



170 MASONRY, PAST, 

ham who presided there. Bro. Oliver, in h. 2, p. 286, 
note 11, says : The Chaldeans, knowing that the Jew- 
ish Masons esteemed the triangle as emblematical of the 
sacred name of God, constructed their fetters in that 
form for the purpose of increasing their mental sufler- 
ings- 

THE DESTRUCTION OF THE TEMPLE, 

Was attended with some of the most remarkable events 
that ever took place in the annals of our race. Jose- 
phus savs, b. 6, chap. 5, p. 557, thus there was a star 
resembling a sword that stood over the city, and a comet 
that continued a whole year, and on the feast of unlea- 
vened bread, on the eighth day of Lanthicus, and at the 
ninth hour of the night, so great a light shone around 
the altar and the* holy house that it appeared to be 
bright daytime, which light lasted for half an hour, and 
at the same festival, also, a heifer, as she was led by the 
high priests to be sacrificed, brought forth a lamb in the 
midst of the temple ; moreover the eastern gate of the 
inner court of the temple, which was of brass, and vast- 
ly heavy, and had been with difficulty shut by twenty 
men, rested upon a basis armed with iron, and had bolts 
fastened very deep into the firm floor, which was made 
of one entire stone, was seen to open of its own accord, 
about the seventh hour of the night. Besides these, a 
few days after the feast, on the one and twentieth day of 
the month of Artemesus, a certain prodigious and insen- 
sible phenomena appeared, for before sitting, chariots, 
and horsemen, and troops of soldiers in their armor, at 
that feast, which we call Pentecost, were seen running 
about the clouds, and surrounding the cities. Moreover, 
as the priests were going by night into the inner court 
of the temple, as their custom was, to perform their sa- 
cred ministration, they said, in the first place they felt 
a quaking and heard a great noise, and after, that they 
heard a sound as if a multitude, saying, let us remove 
hence. It is not for us to account for this mysterious 
and wonderful phenomena any more than the miracles 



PKESENT AND FUTUKE. 171 

of the order being sustained amid so many convulsions 
from time immemorial, where every other human insti- 
tution has perished. But the object the writer has in 
view in introducing this short sketch of history, is to 
show how easily the Deity can overthrow the proudest 
monument of earthly grandeur, even the temple erected 
for his own dwelling place, when it is dishonored by 
impious and sacriligious worship. When Solomon de- 
parted from the God of his fathers, introduced idol wor- 
ship — I can find no authentic record that Solomon him- 
self ever worshiped idols, though they were in his old 
age introduced into the temple — into the temple, it went 
down of its own weight, and the Shekinah, which was 
always visible, according to the Jews, on Mount Moriah, 
has never been seen since. In 1st Kings, 11 : 11, we 
are told, Wherefore the Lord said unto Solomon, for as 
much as this is done of thee and thou hast not kept my 
covenants and my statutes which 1 have commanded 
thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee and will 
give it to thy servants. The prophecy of Jeremiah, and 
many others, are full of the most convincing proofs that 
the glory of the God of Israel departed forever from Jeru- 
salem from the time idol worship was introduced into 
the temple. 

We cannot dwell upon the overwhelming ruin that 
descended like a torrent of fire upon that doomed city. 
Josephus says : in the holy wars about Jerusalem, near- 
ly a million of souls perished. Nebuchadnezzer was 
not only king of Babylon, but an impious idolater. He 
made an image of gold sixty cubits — ninety feet — high 
and six cubits — nine feet — in diameter, and set it up in 
the plains of Dura, in the province of Babylon, and 
caused the nations to bow down and worship it. — Daniel 
3d, 1, 10. And for this act he was driven from the face 
of men, and caused to eat grass like an ox, until seven 
times had passed over him (seven years.) — Daniel 4 : 
25. 

BABYLON 

Is situated on a level region in Asia, on the river Eu- 



172 MASONRY, PAST, 

phrates, which divides the city into two parts. The 
walls were sixty miles in circumference, and Good- 
rich, in his Pictorial Geography, p. 250, says they were 
three hundred and fifty feet high, and eighty-seven feet 
thick, and would contain eight cities as large as London. 
It was once the most magnificent city in the world. At 
the time our ancient brethren dwelt there, it acquired 
such strength and glory as to become the seatot univer- 
sal empire, and the wonder and admiration of the world. 
It was laid out into six hundred and twenty-five squares, 
intersected by twenty-five streets at right angles. The 
whole city was adorned with the most magnificent tow- 
ers — and amidst the ruins of these towers have recently 
been discovered the most splendid Masonic engravings 
the world ever saw — palaces and hanging gardens in the 
world. It held this proud eminence as mistress of the 
world until the days of Cyrus, five hundred and fifty- 
six years before Christ. He surrounded it with his vic- 
torious army for two years ; at last it fell by stratagem. 
On the night of a great festival the waters of the river 
were turned off, and Cyrus passed under the walls at 
midnight. So cautious and silent was his approach that 
it was was not discovered until the different detachments 
met at the palace gate, and all who were not put to the 
sword submitted to the conqueror. This was the end of 
the glory ot Babylon, and so utterly has it been destroy- 
ed that the traveler sighs in vain to decypher the place 
where it once stood, Here the fraternity labored and 
toiled for seventy years, having never departed from the 
worship of the true God, and always retained a knowl- 
edge of those sublime mysteries which they had learned 
in the temple before it was destroyed, and sighed for the 
land of their fathers with the full assurance that they 
again would return and rebuild the house of the Lord. 



PRESENT- AND EUTTJRE. 173 



CHAPTER XIY. 

Three grand lodges in Babylon — Daniel a Mason — Benjamin — Le- 
vites — Priests — High priests — Joshua — Zerubabel. 

PRIVILEGES OF THE FRATERNITY AND FREE- MASON LODGES 
IN BABYLON. 

Dr. Oliver, b. 2, p. 292-293, says : During the cap- 
tivity in Babylon the Jews had practiced Freemasonry, 
and consoled themselves by brotherly communications, 
in regular lodges, until the appointed time of their de- 
liverance, and those who chose to remain continued to 
observe their Masonic duties ; and for this purpose they 
had three grand lodges — Daniel was their grand mas- 
ter — one at Sara and the other two at Pompeditha and 
Nahardas. And on p. 298, note 24, he says : We are 
assured by the Rabins that the tribes that had been car- 
ried into captivity into Babylon founded the celebrated 
fraternity of JSTahardas, on the Euphrates, for the pre- 
servation of traditional knowledge, and its transmission 
to a select few, while it was kept secret from the rest of 
the world ; and this celebrated author further adds that 
Zerubabel, the prince, Joshua, the priest, and Eseradas, 
the scribe, carried away all the secret knowledge, which 
was so carefully preserved within the enclosed recesses 
of this mysterious institution, with them to Jerusalem, 
and that they established in the latter city a similar fra- 
ternity for the same purpose. Josephus says, quoted 
by Dr. Oliver, b. 2, p. 298, note 23 : The high and 
sublime knowledge which the Gentiles with difficulty 
attained in the celebration of their mysteries was habit- 
ually taught to the Jews at all times — that is, the public 
portion of Masonry — so that the body politic seems, as 
it were, one great assembly, constantly kept together 
for the celebration of sacred mysteries — including the 
ineffable name of the Most High. These were held in 
high veneration and practiced to a great extent bv the 
Jews in captivity, and no power interposed to prevent 



174 MASONRY, PAST, * 

their enjoying these inestimable privileges. Dr. Oliver 
says, b. 2, p. 283 : Pythagoras was initiated into the 
system of Freemasonry by Daniel, the prophet. When 
Oambysus invaded Egypt, he took the celebrated Py- 
thagoras prisoner and carried him to Babylon. But, 
continues the Doctor, same book and page, what is more 
to our purpose, he procured initiation at the hands of 
Daniel into the Jewish system of Freemasonry, which 
he studied with great intensity during his entire resi- 
dence of twelve years in Chaldea ; and when he return- 
ed home and established his school, he disseminated, 
along with the esoteric secrets of his philosophy, the pe- 
culiar rights and ceremonies of Jewish Masonry, which 
gave a new character to his sect, and conferred upon it 
a high pre-eminence amongst the systems promulgated 
among the sages of Greece. The Doctor further says, 
b. 2, p. 289, note 28 : In his system (Pythagoras') 
there were two or three different degrees of perfection, 
to be obtained only by diligence, patience and persever- 
ence. The initiated were bound to secrecy, were in- 
trusted with private signs, words and tukens, were 
bound to consider and treat as brethren all their fellows 
in the lodge, and to keep a watch of the most rigid pu- 
rity over their conduct. He taught the eternal essence 
and unity of the Creator of the world, and acknowledged 
no other God but one. The name of this Being he gave 
as a mystery to his disciples, and described the Deity 
in the same word as the Jews, signifying the Self-Exist- 
ant. He inculcated the necessity of pure worship, and 
taught the doctrines of a peculiar Providence, of the im- 
mortality of the soul, and incorporeaiity of the Deity. 
These doctrines he learned of the Jews, and his mode of 
inculcating them by signs and symbols leaves us no 
room to doubt of the connection of his system with Free- 
masonry. Here, then, we have a clear and unequivocal 
statement, a succinct account of Pythagoras' initiation, 
and that Daniel was a Mason, which does not often meet 
the eye of the common reader ; and we have no more 
doubt of it than we have that Solomon and George 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 175 

Washington were Masons. Another evidence why the 
fraternity flourished to a great extent in Babylon is, 
that many of our brethren held some of the most impor- 
tant offices in the government, and exerted an influence 
even over their sovereigns and their contemporaries 
which would give to the lodges full privileges to enjoy 
their rights and practice those sublime mysteries in their 
own way, without molestation from any one, until their 
great deliverance should come. Another argument is, 
the mouldering ruins of Babylon bear Freemasons' 
marks, as fresh as though they were chiseled but yes- 
terday. These incontestable evidences of the existence 
of the craft in a very flourishing condition in Babylon 
are no idle freaks of ours, but sober realities. It Daniel 
was a Mason, which we have no reason to doubt, and 
that he was grand master is equally clear and satisfac- 
tory as any fact that has come down to us on the pages 
of history, we might be permitted to glance at the life 
of this eminent man of God. 

DANIEL. 

A very clear account of this illustrious individual is 
given by the sacred historian. He was a distinguished 
prophet, a descendant of the family of David. While 
yet a youth he was carried, with other Jewish captives, 
into Chaldea. He was there instructed in the arts, sci- 
ences and languages of the Chaldeans, — and Masonry 
was one of them, — and with three other Jewish youths 
was appointed to be trained for the royal service, and to 
reside in the palace. He was very early distinguished 
for his piety and wisdom, and was ultimately raised to 
an exalted station in the Court of the King of Babylon. 
He interpreted several remarkable dreams of the King, 
which raised him to great power and influence in the 
Royal Court. And the King communed with them, and 
they stood before him ; and in all matters of wisdom 
and understanding that the King inquired of them, — 
and among them all was not found one like Daniel. 
And he informed the King that there is a God in Heav- 



176 MASOKitY, PAST, 

en that revealeth secrets (Daniel 2 : 28). He was made 
ruler over the whole province of Babylon. He was in- 
timately acquainted with his countrymen from the first 
day they left Jerusalem until the last hour of their cap- 
tivity, and would not interpose any obstacle to their 
practicing all the sublime mysteries of their forefathers 
and keeping steadily in view the great landmarks of the 
order ; and this is our only secrecy in all coming time. 
The Jews, even in their captivity, enjoyed great privi- 
leges. They were not slaves, as in Egypt, but many of 
them intermarried with the Babylonians, bought lands, 
became wealthy, and refused to return to the Holy Land. 

CYRU8. 

Keference is often made to this celebrated individual 
in the higher degrees ; but his early history is lost in 
the obscurities of the past. A scholar, prince, states- 
man, king, and conqueror, of great renown, employed 
by Jehovah to carry forward his designs of mercy to- 
wards the Jews, his conquests extended all over Eastern 
Asia. But one of the most brilliant exploits on record 
was his overthrow of Babylon, 536 years before Christ. 
The siege lasted two years. Joseph us says, while quite 
a youth he made a vow to the Almighty that, if ever he 
should become King of Babylon, he would send the 
Jews back to their own country, with all the golden ves- 
sels and property of every description. And faithfully 
did he perform this trust. At all events, he was under 
the special injunction from the Almighty that the peo- 
ple who were held in captivity should return, and build 
again the House of the Lord at Jerusalem. And this 
wonderful revelation, Josephus continues, (b. 11, p. 209) 
was foretold by Isaiah one hundred and forty years be- 
fore the Temple was destroyed. The treasure contain- 
ing the golden vessels was entrusted to the care of Mi- 
thredale, Cyrus' treasurer. The object was not only 
to rebuild the Temple, but to review the ancient prac- 
tices relating to their worship — Masonry as it was in 
Solomon's day. He issued a very severe edict to the 



PKESEttT AND FUTUKE. 177 

Governors of Asia to aid the Jews in their return ; and 
those who disobeyed his commands were to be hung oq 
the cross, and their substance was to be brought into 
the King's treasurer. The Bible account of those who 
left Babylon according to "Nehemiah 7 : 66, the whole 
congregation together was forty and two thousand, three 
hundred and three score. Ezra says they were four 
months in performing the journey. The principal tribes 
that returned, according to Moor's Monitor, p. 150, were 
the tribes of Judea and Benjamin, with the priests and 
levites. This agrees, also, with the Sacred Scriptures. 

JUDAH, 

The fourth son of Jacob and Leah, born in Mesopota- 
mia, about A. M. 2249. The tribe of which he was 
the head and representative was the most powerful of 
the twelve, Num. 1 : 27, and had the first lot in the 
division of the promised land, before his nation was car- 
ried into captivity. His tribe possessed the southern 
parts of Canaan, extending from the Jordan to the Medi- 
terranean Sea, and northerly to the /Territory of Dan 
and Benjamin, Jos. 15: 163. 

BENJAMIN 

was the youngest son of Jacob and Rachel. His mother 
died immediately after his birth, which took place near 
Bethlehem. When the family were on their journey 
from Padan Aram to Canaan, with her dying breath 
she called him Benoni, the son of my sorrow. But his 
father called his name Benjamin, the son of my right 
hand. The tribe of Benjamin had their portion of the 
promised land adjoining Judah ; and when the ten 
tribes revolted Benjamin continued steadfast in his at- 
tachment to Judah, and formed a part of that kingdom. 
The Apostle Paul was a descendant of this tribe. 

LEVITES 

Were the loyal descendants of Levi by Gushron, in- 
12 



178 MASONRY, PAST, 

stead of the first born of Israel. God chose the Levites 
for the service of the Tabernacle and the Temple. Bring 
the tribe of Levi near and present them before .Aaron, 
the priest, that they may minister unto him, Num. 3 : 6. 
Their duty was to assist the priests in the ministration 
of the Temple, and sang and played on instruments in 
their daily services. They devoted great attention to 
the study of the Law, and were the ordinary judges of 
the country, but subordinate to the High Priests — the 
highest officer in the Koyal Arch Degree. Their posses- 
sions in the land of Canaan were forty-eight cities, with 
fields, pastures and gardens, Num. 35 : 7. They could 
not enter into the service of the Tabernacle until they 
were twenty-five years old, Num. 8 : 24, or Masonicaliy 
oi lawful age. 

PKIEST. 

These were the next in order who left Babylon for 
Jerusalem ; these were of two kinds. The regular des- 
cendants ot Aaron, without exception, were Priests. It 
was their duty to offer sacrifice; which was always of a 
solemn and impressive nature, but none could aspire to 
the high office, except such as were invested with the 
Priestly office. 2d Chron. 26 : 18. 

HIGH PRIESTS, 

Were the first born in every family, in -regular succes- 
sion from Aaron, were consecrated and set apart for the 
office of High Priest. Ex. 29. Their dress was costly, 
and magnificent, on their breasts they wore a curiously 
wrought plate ot fine gold, divided into twelve squares 
representing the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, 
the head-dress was made of twelve yards of the finest 
linen, a solid plate of gold in front, on which was writ- 
ten, Holiness to the Lord. They held the office for life, 
and their principal duty was to officiate in the most 
Holy Place, on the great day of atonement, which was 
only once a year. In the 16th Chapter of Leviticus we 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 179 

have a full and interesting account of this sacred service, 
and its imposing ceremonies. 

JOSHUA. 

He was not the one that left Egypt and crossed the 
Jordan with the Israelites into the laud of Canaan, who 
Jet't Babylon at this time; but the lineal descendant from 
Sinai, who held the Pontificate when the temple was 
destroyed, and he became the associate and colleague of 
Zerubabel, see]Dr. Oliver b. 2. p. 292. His ancestor- 
was the son of Nun, by virtue of his birth, was entitled 
to the office of High Priest, who was the adviser and 
successor ot Moses, commander-in-chief of the armies of 
Israel from Egypt. His ancestor performed some of the 
most stupendous miracles that have ever transpired in 
the annals of our race ; at his bidding the waters of 
Jordan rolled back, and the hosts of Israel entered the 
land of Canaan in triumph. He commanded the sun 
to stand still on Gibeon and the moon to stand still in 
the val ley of A jalon,and they obeyed him, Josh. 10: 12-13. 
This display of Almighty power can only be accounted 
ior that the Divine and Holy Being who made the laws 
of nature, could easily suspend them to accomplish cer- 
tain objects. 

Then rose up Zerubabel, the son of Shealiel,and Joshua 
the son of Joradab, and began to build the house of the 
Lord which is at Jerusalem, Hag. 1 : 1-14- ; see also 
Ezra, 5th chap. 2d v. And is it not most remarkable 
that the descendants of Judah, Benjamin, the Levites. 
and the Priests should have kept steadily alive the Di- 
vine precepts of their holy religion, and practiced the 
solemn and mysterious rites of Freemasonry in Baby - 
Ion for seventy years ; surrounded by the forms and 
customs of the most idolatrous nation in the world, where 
every vestige of the only living and true God was lost and 
unknown, except to the Jews, who often exclaimed in 
the bitterness of their souls, how can we sing one of the 
songs of Zion in an enemies land, which only assures 



180 MASOFRT, PAST, 

us that God watches over his word with a more peculiar 
interest than all other works in our world besides. 

ZERUBABEL 

"Was the leader of the first colony of the Jews that re- 
turn from the captivity in Babylon, as we are informed 
in Ezra 1 : 2, and was of the family of David. Cyrus 
committed to his special charge the sublime mysteries of 
Masonry, or he had learned them from the Ancient Fa- 
• thers, who were present when the foundation of the first 
temple was laid ; to him also w r as entrusted the second 
vessels that were returned to Jerusalem. He laid the 
foundation of the second temple, Zach. 4: 6-10. The 
hands of Zerubabei have laid the foundation of this 
house, his hands also shall finish it ; and those shall 
know that the Lord of Hosts hath sent me unto yon, for 
they shall rejoice and see the plummet — and the second 
degree he conferred without the plum line — in the hand 
of Zerubabei. These holy men of God, after their weary 
sojourn of many months from Babylon, under the im- 
mediate direction of the Almighty, commenced the 
erection of this second Masonic temple, after it had laid 
in ruins seventy year?, was again to stand forth, the glory 
and admiration of the world. Great were their embarass- 
ments in consequence of their enemies having to labor 
with the trowel, the principal working tool of a master ma- 
son, in one hand, and the sword in the other. But time, pa- 
tience and perseverence finally accomplished all things, 
and it was finished, and stood forth in all its glory, and 
was dedicated with national rejoicings, before Christ, 515 
or a little more that seventy years after the destruction 
of it. In Ezra 3 : 11-12, we are told : And all the people 
shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, 
because the foundation of the house of the Lord was 
laid. But many of the Priests and Levites. and chiet 
of the fathers, who w r ere ancient men that had seen the 
first house, when the foundation of this house was laid 
before their eyes, wept with a loud voice, and many 
shouted aloud for joy. 



PRESENT A^D FUTURE. 181 

How often has the writer, in journeying nearly half a 
century with the fraternity, in their hopes and fears, joys 
and sorrows, toils and conflicts of life, see our aged fa- 
thers weep, while performing some part of the labors 
assigned them in the temple, as the regular descendants 
of those ancient times, and whose sublime mysteries 
have come safely down to us. Were not the principal 
men of Judah, Benjamin, the Levites, Joshua, Zeruba- 
bel, and many other Jewish workmen, Masons, in the 
senond temple, and how is it possible they could perform 
the labors assigned them if they were not, and how is it 
these sacred mysteries have been so faithfully transmit- 
ted from age to age, entrusted to their care, from their 
forefathers. True, they might have performed the me- 
chanical portions of the building; but there was a high- 
er and holier object they had in view, to introduce the 
worship of the living God, by symbolical language, and 
did not the fraternity alone build this house of God, as 
they did the first temple, and is not the honor of its 
erection due to them, and were they not Divinely in- 
spired, and directed by the Almighty to go forward in 
their work to its final completion, that his name might 
be proclaimed, and his glory manifest, as in former 
times. The fraternity have no more doubt of it than 
they have that such a man as Solomon lived, and that 
he was a Free and accepted Mason. We have no space 
to answer the objections of those who are not interested, 
it is enough for us to know the facts, and govern our- 
selves accordingly. 
• 



182 MASONRY, PAST, 

CHAPTER XV. 

Second Temple — Bible where given to to the "World by Masons — 
Masonry of St. John the Baptist — The Assenes — St. John the 
Evangelist, also the Saviour, knew they were Masons — Bethlehem, 
where — Bethany, Brook Cedron, Gethsemane, Calvery, Mount of 
Olives. 

THE SECOND TEMPLE, 

Was not, in some respects, equal to the first. No ark, 
no mercy seat, no sacred fire, no visible revelations of 
the Divine glory, no Urim and Thummin ; no spirit of 
prophecy — still it was twice the size of Solomon's, fin- 
ished as a permanent place of worship for the whole 
Jewish nation, who had returned from their Babylonian 
captivity, and ultimately became the theatre of some 
stupendous illustrations of the Divine glory than the 
first Temple ever witnessed. In Hag. 2d, 9, we are told 
the glory of this latter house shall be greater, saith the 
Lord of hosts, and in this place I will give peace, saith 
the Lord of hosts. When the Jews were, settled in the 
land of Judea, says Dr. Oliver, b. 2, p. 293; Zerubabel 
summoned a solemn Sanhedrim to deliberate on the 
course of their future proceedings. This great council 
of the Jews — one of the gravest and most majestic as 
semblies that ever existed in the world, was originally 
constructed by Moses, in the wilderness, under the Di- 
vine directions, in the grand and royal lodge which was 
summoned, amidst the ruins of Jerusalem, on their first 
return from captivity. Zerubabel presided as their* first 
officer, assisted by Haggai, the prophet, and Joshua, the 
high priest, and Esdras, the scribe, who was succeeded 
in this important office by Ezra and Nehemiah. What- 
ever might have been the number present in this coun- 
cil of wise men, to commence the labors of rebuilding 
the House of the Lord, yet one thing is certain, many 
invaluable discoveries were made which were concealed 
in darkness nearly four hundred and seventy years. 
Where, we ask, was the Book of the Law, containing 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 183 

the ten commandments, during that time? Inspiration 
is silent, and the historians say we cannot tell. Seven- 
teen times had Jerusalem been pillaged and destroyed 
since the first Temple was built, and yet it was safe and 
undiscovered. No penetrating gaze of the plunderer 
could rind it when the Omniscient eye of God watchad 
over his own word to prevent its falling into the hands 
of an idolatrous nation. "Whatever may be the opinion 
of the church, if they have any, the world would never 
have had the Book of the Law for four hundred and sev- 
enty years, had it not been for the Masons, unless God 
had made a new revelation — and he had nowhere prom- 
ised he would, Dr. Oliver says, b. 2, p. 273, during the 
progress of the work, a most important discovery was 
made, and the consequence proves the melancholy fact 
that the holy writings of Moses at that period, were al- 
together unknown to the inhabitants of Judea and Israel. 
The prohibition of Manasseh had been complete, and 
the copies of the sacred writings had all been destroyed, 
and in b. 2, p. 278, note 18, says, if any copies of the 
Pentateuch were in existence at that time, they were 
carefully and sacredly preserved by the conservatives of 
Jewish Masonry, because if produced, they would cer- 
tainly have been destroyed. The injunction of Manas- 
seh, and his son Amron, were so stringent that none 
dared to disobey them. It is quite clear, continues the 
Doctor, that even Josiah himself had never seen a copy 
of this invaluable document. — B. 2, p. 272. He further 
adds, that to such an extent had the men of Judea neg- 
lected their religion, and abandoned their God, priests 
as well as people, that in the time of Josiah, the Tem- 
ple was in ruins, the sacred meetings had became a dead 
letter, and it was believed that there was not a single 
copy of the law in existence. The Jews themselves held 
that all the scriptures were lost and destroyed in the 
Babylonish captivity, and that Ezra restored them again 
by Divine revelations. In 2d Chronicles, 34 : 14, 15, 
18, 21, A.nd when they brought out the money that was 
brought into the house of the Lord, Hilkiah, the priest, 



184 MASOKKY, PAST, 

found a book of the Law of the Lord given by Moses. 
And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan, the scribe, 
I have found the book of the Law in the house of the 
Lord. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan. 
Then Shaphan, the scribe, told the king, saying, Hilki- 
ah the priest hath given me a book, and Shaphan read 
it before the king. Go enquire of the Lord for me, and 
for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning 
the words of the book that is found, for great is the 
wrath of the Lord that is poured out upon us, because 
our fathers have not kept the word of the Lord to do all 
that is written in this book: If there was a single copy 
in existence at that time, it would be easy for the church 
to show where it was, and prove to the world we are 
mistaken. If the book was never lost, how could it be 
found. If the Masons, under the immediate inspira- 
tion of the Almighty, did not find' it, who did, and 
can the history of the church be complete without 
it. And is not this wonderful discovery of in- 
calculable benefit to our race. A mere assertion that 
the fraternity did not find the book and give it to the 
world amounts to nothing. The system of Masonry rests 
not upon surmises or the idle fancies of any one. "What 
she believes are sober and eternal realities. We have 
the evidence, to us as irresistible as the laws of light, 
and we know as truly the book of God was found by 
Masons, as before remarked, as there is any such thing 
in existence now. But, it will be asked, how did the 
Jews practice Freemasonry in Babylon without the law? 
We answer, in the same way our forefathers did for 
nearly three thousand years before there was any law 
written. Besides there was enough of its high and holy 
principles retained in the memory for them to go for- 
ward in their work ; and on this principle the three 
grand lodges were established in Babylon. And we use 
to-day, not only the external forms and ceremonies, the 
general teachings of symbolical language, but, in many 
instances, the very words used by our ancient brethren, 
and we are as certain of it, almost as our own existence, 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 185 

and upon this subject we cannot be mistaken. In refer- 
ring to the following testimony, the reader is informed 
how the law and many other things of a priceless value 
were deposited in the ark of the covenant: 

And it came to pass when Moses had made an end 
of writing the words of the law in a book, until they 
were finished, that Moses commanded the Levites which 
bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord, saying, Take 
this book of the law and put it in the side of the ark of 
the covenant of the Lord yonr God, that it may be there 
for a witness against thee. — Deut., 31 : 24-26. 

And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot and put an 
omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the 
Lord, to be kept for your generations. As the Lord 
commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the testi- 
mony to be kept.— Exodus, 16 ; 33-34. 

And the Lord said unto Moses, Bring Aaron's rod 
again before the testimony, to be kept for a token. — 
Numbers, 17: 10. 

Moses, though he never entered the land of Canaan, 
yet he toresaw the Temple that would be erected to God, 
and dedicated to His holy name, would finally be over- 
thrown and destroyed. He used the precaution to pre- 
serve the Book of the Law given by himself on Mount 
Sinaih, of inestimable value to the world ; and fearing 
it might fall into sacreligious or idolatrous hands, as did 
the Ark into those of the Philestines, used every precau- 
tion, as above, to prevent it. In laying the foundation 
of the second Temple — says the Templars' Chart, p. 10 — 
those peculiar ceremonies occurred which gave rise to 
the Royal Arch degree. In the Free Mason's Quarterly 
Review — vol. 4, p. 157 — we are told that on a day al- 
lowed, and at a place appointed, the whole company of 
builders set out after high noon — the sun at meridian, 
understood perfectly by every Mason, — to lay the first 
stone and to encourage them in their work. A peculiar 
instance of Divine favor was manifested that stupendous 
mystery, concealed before the Flood by the wisdom and 
piety of Enoch, preserved amid the strife of waters and 



186 MASONRY, PAST, 

the wreck of a drowned world, — (the Flood occurred in 
the year of the world one thousand six hundred and 
fifty-six, and Enoch was translated in the year nine hun- 
dred and eighty-seven ; some of the sublime mysteries 
were eoncealed then 859 yeara) — the revolution of ages, 
and the Book of the Law was revealed to the builders 
of the second Temple ; once more the ineffable charac- 
ters were revealed, and the lost secret found. We are 
not permitted seriously to allude to the sacredness of this 
degree, but its sublime mysteries will be retained in the 
memory while virtue, integrity and religion find a lodg- 
ment in the soul. If the world remains profoundly ig- 
norant of these momentous truths, be it so ; we will 
silently work on, steadily adhering to the instructions 
we have received, following the footprints of our forel 
fathers, and faithfully transmit these momentous truths 
to those who may come after us. But it will be asked, 
how this Book of the Law was preserved four hundred 
and seventy years ? The best reason we can assign is, 
it was written on velum, or parchment, similar to the 
Egyptian method of preserving their public records, 
which for ages remained entire ; besides, it was care- 
fully concealed in the Ark of the Covenant, secured 
from dampness, until our ancient brethren returned from 
Babylon. This book is held in high veneration by the 
craft, not on account of its being hid from the world four 
hundred and seventy years, and discovered in that mys- 
terious way known only to Masons, and the indebted- 
ness of the world to them for this inestimable gift; — i If 
Masons did not give the Book of the Law to the world, 
who did ?) — not merely because it contains a true record 
of that symbolical language, making known the dealings 
of God to us, in the merciful designs of this Providence; 
but it is the only guide to our faith and practice, and 
opens the only pathway from earth to Heaven. The 
Temple of Zerubabel stood about five hundred years, 
when Herod the Great, to secure the favor of the Jews, 
undertook to rebuild it. He began the work only sev- 
enteen years before Christ, and completed the main 



"present and future. 187 

building in ten years, so that it was fit for service. The 
whole work occupied forty-six years — John 2 : 20. As 
no reference is ever made in our work to Herod, little 
will be said in this place about him : suffice it to say, his 
whole life was distinguished for the most barbarous acts 
of savage cruelty ; a murderer, a cold-blooded assassin, 
causing the indiscriminate slaughter of all the children 
of Bethlehem of two years old, and younger. He assas- 
sinated our Grand Master, St. John the Baptist; and for 
this malignant act, and many others, he died a most aw- 
ful death. Josephus says he was eaten of worms, whiie 
alive. 

"We must now pass over a period oi many years from 
the completion and destruction of the second temple. 
Our ancient brethren separated, and were dispersed over 
the world, forming themselves into lodges for the propa- 
gation of science, morals and religion, never for a mo- 
ment forgetting the instructions of their fathers and the 
worship due to the ever-living and true God. 

MASONRY OF ST. JOHN THE BAPTIST. 

The prophet, and forerunner of our Saviour, and the 
Elias of the New Testament, the son of Zacharias, the 
aged priest, and Elizabeth, (Luke, 1, 13,) was born about 
sijx months before Christ. His birth and work was pre- 
dicted by the Angel Gabriel. — Luke 1, 5, 15. His char- 
acter is emblazoned in letters of light upon the high 
pages of inspiration, and his eulogy pronounced by the 
Son of God : among them that are born of woman, there 
has not arisen a greater than John the Baptist, Though 
he spent much of his time in the wilderness of Judah, 
yet he often visited large cities and mingled in the most 
popular assemblies in the world, and there was not a 
man living, except the Savior, who could command the at- 
tention of such vast multitudes. He rose to eminence as a 
preacher almost unparalleled in the history of our world. 
Col cut, an ancient writer, quoted by Dr. Oliver, b. 1, p. 
130, note 37, positively asserts that he was a Freemason, 
which was the secret society of that day, that conveyed 



188 MASONRY, PAST, 

moral truths under symbolical figures, and may there- 
fore be termed Freemasonry, retaining the same form, 
but practiced under a different name. The Jews pre- 
served their secret society during the captivity in Baby- 
lon, and had lodges in the various towns where they 
settled, and three grand lodges at Sora, Pampoditha and 
JS T ahardis. Pythagoras and Euclid practiced societies of 
this nature in their respective localities, the former in 
Italy, the latter at Tyre. The Doctor further asserts, 
b. 2, p. 448, the Messiah was heralded by John the Bap- 
tist, who was undoubtedly an Essenian Freemason. If 
we can ascertain what was the system and practice of 
theEssenes, we shall have a correct judgment whether 
John the Baptist was or was not a Freemason. Br. 
Mackey, in his Lexicon of Freemasonry, page 141, says, 
the Essenes, a sect among the Jews, supposed by Ma- 
sonic writers to have been the descendants of the Free- 
masons of the Temple, and through whom the order was 
propagated to modern times. They were divided into 
two classes, operative and speculative ; the latter de- 
voting themselves to a life of contemplation, the former 
to the practice of the same handicraft. They secluded 
themselves from the rest of the world, and were com- 
pletely esoteric, or secret, in their doctrines, which were 
also of a symbolical character. They admitted no wo- 
men into their order, abolished all distinctions of rank, 
writing on the level, and giving the preference only to 
virtue. Charity was bestowed upon their indigent breth- 
ren, and as a means of recognition they adopted signs 
and other words similar to those of Freemasons. This 
order was divided into three degrees. When a candi- 
date applied for admission, his character was scrutinized 
with the greatest severity. He was then presented with 
a girdle, a hatchet, and a white garment. Being thus 
prepared, and admitted into the first degree, he remain- 
ed in a state of probation for one year, during which 
time, although he lived according to their customs, he 
was not admitted into their meetings. At the termina- 
tion of this period, if found worthy, he was admitted 



PKESUNT akd future. 189 

into the second degree, and was made partaker of the 
waters of purification ; but he was not yet permitted to 
live among them. Josephus says, Bll. part 11, 8, the 
Essenes took a solemn obligation to exercise piety to- 
wards God and justice towards men; to hate the wicked 
and assist the good ; to show fidelity to all men, obedi- 
ence to those, in authority, and kindness to those below 
him ; to be a lover of truth and a reprover of falsehood, 
to keep his hands clear from theft and his soul from 
unlawful gain ; to conceal nothing from his own sect, 
nor discover any of their doctrines to others ; to commu- 
nicate these doctrines in no other wise than he had re- 
ceived them himself, and lastly, to preserve the books 
belonging to the sect. See also, Br. Mackey's Lexicon, 
p. 142. 

Dr. Oliver, b. 1, p. 139, note 36, says : From the 
building of the first temple at Jerusalem to the Baby- 
lonish captivity, the lodges of Freemasons were dedica- 
ted to King Solomon, from thence to the advent of 
Christ, they were dedicated to Zerubabel, who built the 
second temple, and from that time to the final destruc- 
tion of the temple by Titus, they were dedicated to St. 
John the Bapiist ; but owing to the losses which were 
sustained by that memorable occurrence, Freemasonry 
declined, many lodges were broken up, and the brethren 
were afraid to meet without an acknowledged head. At 
a secret meeting of the cratt holden is the city of Ben- 
jamin, this circumstance was much regretted, and they 
deputed seven brethren to solicit St. John the Evange- 
list, who was at that time Bishop of Ephesus, to accept 
the office of Grand Master. He replied to the deputa- 
tion, that though well stricken in years, having been in 
his youth, initiated into Masonry, he would acquiesce in 
their request, thus completing by his learning what the 
other St. John had begun by his zeal, and thus drew 
what Freemasons call a line, parallel ever since, which 
the lodges in all Christian countries have been dedica- 
ted to the two St. John's. Calmet, quoted by Dr. Oliver, 
b. 1, p. 71, note 53, says that St. John the Evangelist, 



190 MASONKY, PAST, 

was an Essenian Freemason, instituted a secret theolog- 
ical society, with mystic rites, and Masonic emblems. 
Dr. Oliver, b. 1. p. 143, note 7, says: In the degree of 
Sublime Scotch Masonry, it is asserted that St. John the 
Evangelist was the first man who held a lodge of per- 
fection. If then the Essenes were not Free and Ac- 
cepted Masons of their day, though under a different 
name, in all the essential elements of the craft at the 
present time, what were they ? If the two St. John r 8 
did not belong to the society, their is no language that 
can prove anything. It is just as certain to us as that 
they were commissioned by our Lord to preach the gos- 
pel ; and is this any more wonderful to us, than that 
Solomon should be a Mason, and built a Masonic Temple 
on Mouut Moriah, or that George Washington was pres- 
ident of the United States, and he too, a member of the 
order, and thousands of holy men, in all ages, have en- 
rolled their names among us, and are combining their 
mightiest energies to spread abroad its high and holy 
principles. In Moore's- Manual — all Manuals are alike 
in the essentials of the order — p. 34, we are told that 
Masons professing Christianity, dedicate their lodges to 
St. John the Baptist, and St. John the Evangelist, who 
were two eminent Christian patrons in Masonry. At 
what particular time these holy men were initiated into 
the sublime mysteries of the order, how many were vo- 
taries of the craft, or how many subordinate lodges, 
were working under their jurisdiction at this removed 
distance from the scene of their exploits it is impossible 
to tell, but this is as susceptible of as clear a proof as 
any that have come down to us on the pages of history, 
that St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist 
were both Free and Accepted Masons, practcing the 
same sublime rights, forms and ceremonies, as we do to- 
day. They belonged to a secret society ot brothers, 
banded together by no common tie, for the propagation 
of science, morals and religion, into whose secret recess 
the prying gaze ot the world could not penetrate. Be- 
sides, if the St. John's were not Masons, why are their 



PEESENT AND FUTUKE. 191 

anniversaries celebrated in all the grand and subordin- 
ate lodges throughout the world. Would the Church 
commemorate the birth of our Saviour, if he was not a 
Christian? and would we dedicate our lodges to them if 
they did not belong to the order ? The idea would be 
preposterous, and carry conviction and falsehood on the 
face of it, a solemn farce that no high minded Mason 
would for a moment submit to, and a lodge to practice 
such deception, could not exist twenty-four hours. We 
are the only order that keep alive the anniversaries of 
these eminent and holy men by dedications, festivals, 
public ceremonies and religious processions. They were 
no ordinary men, did not become members of the craft 
for a mere name, but possessed in an eminent degree, a 
high order of intellect, bold, zealous and indefatigable 
in all they did, of great moral courage, zealously attach- 
ed to their master, eminent christians, and devoted Ma- 
sons — our Grand Master, St. John the Baptist was be- 
headed by the order of Herod, in the year 31 — but their 
labors in this earthly lodge are closed, their brilliant 
career terminated, but their memories live, and the 
world will forever feel the influence of their virtuous 
actions. Their characters are held up as models of im- 
itation in all lodges, and we are taught by the most im- 
pressive ceremonies, to revere their memories and imitate 
their virtues. 

ST. JOHN THE EVANGELIST 

Was the son of Zebedee and Salome, born in Bethsada, 
on the banks of the Jordan, near the sea of Tiberas, a 
cousin of John the Baptist, a companion of Peter, An- 
drew and Philip. Matthew, 4 : 18-21. His parents 
were eminently pious and in good circumstances. His 
residence was principally at Jerusalem, and he witness- 
ed some of the most astounding events that have ever 
transpired in the annals of our world. He was present 
at that dreadful hour of crucifixion, when the world 
rocked to. its center, the graves opened, the veil of the 
temple rent in twain, and darkness spread over the land 



192 Masonry past, 

for the space of three hours. Matthew, 27 : 4-5. Mark, 
14: 33. This scene caused a heathen philosopher, three 
thousand miles from the place to exclaim : " One of two 
things is certain," said he, " either the God of nature 
suffers to-daj, or the world is coming to an end." But 
with a firm trust in God, a calm and serene soul, he be- 
held the convulsions of the world ; his eye ot faith pen- 
etrated the darkness that rested upon the mountains of 
Judab, and was fixed firmly upon a better hope and a 
brighter heaven, and waited patiently for the time when 
the Grand Master should call him from his labors below, 
to mingle in the throng of glorified spirits who are for- 
ever before the throne of God and the Lamb, where the 
wicked cease from troubling and the weary are at rest. 
In whatever light we view this wonderful man, either 
as a Christian or a Mason, we invariably attribute to 
him those elements of soul which, in every emergency, 
constitute the great and good man. His constancy and 
unwavering attachment to his friends, his inflexible in- 
tegrity and strict adherence to truth and justice, was 
a cause why he was so much beloved by his Saviour and 
all who knew him. Those sublime qualities of meek- 
ness and humility, which shone so conspicuously in all 
his acts, endeared him to the fraternity of his day, and 
is held up as a model of imitation in all lodges since. 
He was present on the morning of the resurrection, and 
first communicated the glad tidings to a lost world. His 
indomitable spirit triumphed over every difficulty, and 
he attained a higher eminence in the estimation of his 
Master than any of the apostles. He was present at the 
transfiguration of Christ. After six days, Jesus taketh 
Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them 
into a high mountain apart, and was transfigured before 
them, and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment 
white as the light. Matthew, 17 : 1, 2. If Masonry is 
not religion in all its essential elements, why is it our 
attention is so often directed to the star in the east, and 
if the advent of the Saviour to our earth is untrue, the 
hope of the world has perished. 



PRESEHT AND FUTURE. 193 

St. John the Evangelist was a celebrated traveler, and 
preached extensively in Asia Minor, but was finally 
banished by the tyrant Dametian ninety-four years after 
Christ, to the Isle of Patmos in the ^Egean Sea, not far 
from the promontory of Miletus, between Lamos and 
Naxes, twenty or twenty-five miles in circumference. 
Modern travelers describe it as dreary and barren, sup- 
posed to be formed by some volcanic eruption, and has 
been used by the Romans for many years as a kind of 
Botany Bay for their criminals. About a mile in the 
interior is a celebrated cavern where, tradition says, he 
wrote the book of Revelations, for bold conception and 
£ ublim ty of thought, une ualed by any human compo- 
sition- After his return from exile, he preached in 
Ephesus, a celebrated city in Asia Minor, on the river 
Capstar, near its mouth, about thirty miles south of 
Smyrna. Here he continued the same uncompromising 
adherent to truth, mercy and justice, to the end of his 
life, and died at the age of ninety, in the reign of Tra- 
gan, full of years, in the consciousness of a well spent 
life, and a glorious immortality. 

Jerome, an ancient writer, informs us that when John 
was too feeble to converse correctly, he was constantly 
repeating the words " Little children, love one another "; 
and when asked why he always repeated this sentence 
only, he replied, " Because this is the commandment of 
the Lord ; and if this is done, it is enough." It is so 
truly Masonic ! — and a lesson we are taught never to 
forget while we live. This simple sentence comprises 
the entire system of Masonry, and our whole duty to 
God. Did the Son of God know that the two St. Johns 
belonged to a secret society, that its principles might be 
dangerous to community, tending to subvert the order 
of government, overthrow the religion of the Bible, and 
set aside the Law, and the Prophets, as in the days of 
persecution ? — it was said by our enemies. Did he ever 
reprove them, and request the best friends he ever had 
on earth immediately to abandon that dangerous institu- 
13 



194 HASONKY, PAST, 

tion? He did not; for no such thing ever existed, and 
the instance cannot be found on the records of the world 
of any grand or subordinate lodge believing, or practi- 
cing, any such theory. We have no elements in our or- 
ganization that do not exactly coincide with the teach- 
ings of the Holy Bible ; and this is the reason why the 
Saviour, on many occasions, uttered the most withering 
rebukes that ever fell from the lips of man against the 
Pharisees, Saducees, and many others; and not the 
least allusion to the secret society of the Essenes or Ma- 
sonry to which the St. Johns belonged, who held their 
meetings in the very Temple where he (the Saviour) 
had so often preached, and with such tremendous power. 
And is it possible that in all his journeyings, and preach- 
ing, his intimate acquaintance with the world, the de- 
signs of man, and even the secrets of the heart, that no 
allusion is ever made to the secret society of the Masons ? 
Yet, it was dangerous in its elements, or evil in its prac- 
tices ! The fact is, the Divine Redeemer never saw any 
such thing; and he never could reprove, as sin, that 
which had no existence, but always, and on all occa- 
sions, encouraged his beloved disciples to go forward in 
every good word, and work. Do we believe the two St. 
Johns were deceived ? And if so, would they have pat- 
ronized for a moment an institution so dangerous (as it 
is said) ? And if they had not power to subvert or 
overthrow it, would they not have applied to their Mas- 
ter to drive the fraternity from the Temple, as he had 
done the money changers a few days before ? The truth 
is incontestable, and self-evident, that the All-Seeing 
Eye of the Saviour never saw anything immoral or irre- 
ligious in the elements or faith of Masonry ; but all her 
symbols and emblems, and teachings, tend to elevate 
man in the scale of being here, and prepare him for a 
higher enjoyment hereafter. 

Had we the time we should like to dwell in the pres- 
ence, listen in the Council, and linger in the Light of 
those holy men, so much beloved by our Saviour, and 
such eminent patrons of the order. We might be per- 



PRESENT AJSD FUTURE. 195 

mitted to glance at a few places so inestimably con 
nected with the history of those holy men and Masons. 

BETHLEHEM 

Was the birth-place of David, and the Redeemer. — Luke 
2d, 4. It is a small village, situated upon an eminence, 
and about six miles south-west from Jerusalem, memor- 
able for one of the most extraordinary events that have 
ever occurred in the annals of our race. Here, in an 
obscure place, in a lonely hovel, was born the Son of 
God, the King of the Jews and the Redeemer of the 
world. What a scene! How sublime, how glorious in 
aspect, how triumphant in results ! We have seen His 
star in the east says the wise men, and have came to 
worship Him. No birth in our world, before or since, 
was ever announced by the song of angels, glory to God 
in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards 
men ! And is not this the theme taken up and re-echoed 
by the fraternity over the world. If we have, as a so- 
ciety, any other element of faith, it would be stricken 
from our records as unworthy of the confidence of can- 
did men, who have been told this is the Alpha and 
Omega of the order — There are may clergymen of the 
highest order of intellect, members of the fraternity. — 
Take from us this element, the lodge and the church 
would go down together. Has this symbol ot glory 
then no meaning ? Can we feel its power in the soul 
without emotions of the profoundest awe and veneration % 
Among all Christian nations does not the star in the east 
hold a very conspicuous place, particularly in the high, 
er degrees pertaining to the order? Darkness had set- 
tled down upon the earth, brooding over the nations like 
a pall of death, No hand could lift the veil or eye pen- 
etrate the gloom. And did not Masonry, by her sym- 
bolical language, preserve a knowledge of the true God 
and the worship due to His holy name, when the world 
was sunk in Heathenism? But it will be said the Bible 
speaks of the idolatry of the early ages of the world. 
True, but could the Holy Scriptures give this appalling 



196 MASOKRT, PAST, 

account nearly three thousand years before they existed, or 
a single word of the law written by Moses. Our forefathers 
steadily followed the light down the stream of time, 
whether it gleamed even faintly, in the promise the seed 
of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head, or shone 
more brightly, from the prophets and wise men of the 
east, flashing out from the burning bush on Horeb, or 
seen in Egypt's cloudy pillars of fire, until it shed its 
hallowed beams upon the consecrated head of the Son 
of God. These great truths were kept steadily alive by 
the most perfect system of symbolism through all the 
dark ages of the world, when all original language 
and a knowledge of the true God was lost. This is what 
Masonry claims and what she is entitled to by all the 
traditions of the order, and sacred ties of associations 
that bind us together as a brotherhood of the world, 
whose precepts and religion have come down to us from 
the earliest ages. While convulsions rock the world, 
storms and tempests sweep over the earth and howl 
along the sky ; while the church is torn by schisms and 
contending factions — which is a libel against true relig- 
ion and the God of the Bible — we move on, steadily and 
unitedly, endeavoring to worship the God of our fath- 
ers, in spirit and in truth, and have no other light to 
guide us than that which blazed and flashed out from 
the consecrated manger in Bethlehem. I am, says the 
Saviour, the light ot the world, he that followeth me 
shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. Bona- 
parte, while on his way to Egypt, halted his army in Je- 
rusalem, and visited Bethlehem and saw the place where 
the Son of God lay. About two miles from this hallow- 
ed spot are the Pools of Solomon, exquisitely wrought 
by our Grand Master, and in almost an entire stale of 
preservation, as silent mementos of the departing glory 
of the God of Israel. But it will be said, the Bible in- 
forms us all about the Temple. True, it speaks of its 
materials, its cost, the numbers employed, the time of 
its erection, completion, dedication, and the glory of the 
Lord that filled the house. These were all public acts 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 197 

performed in the presence of thousands. But does the 
Bible inform us that magnificent structure was erected 
under the immediate direction of the Almighty by Free 
and Accepted Masons ? which is true to the letter, and 
cannot be contradicted by any logical course of reason- 
ing known in our world. Besides, does the sacred Scrip- 
tures inform the world of anything of those secret forms 
and sublime ceremonies, by which a hundred and fifty 
thousand workmen could be distinguished from each 
other, what progress they had made in the several de- 
partments of the Temple, and who were entitled to the 
rewards of the most skillful and worthy, not by name or 
possession^ but from actual merits. Does the Bible in- 
form us of the internal working of the order, that by 
the mysterious language of symbolism, of all others the 
most solemn and impressive, the work progressed in si- 
lence and unknown rapidity to its final completion, un- 
paralleled m the history of our world. But it may still 
be said, the existence of Freemasonry is unnecessary, 
because we have a perfect rule of faith and practice in. 
the holy scriptures. True, but this remark applies 
against the church, or any other moral or religious organ- 
ization, is it not to keep alive in the memory the high 
and holy principles that the church exists ? The Saviour 
understood the necessity of associations for practical 
purposes when he founded the church, and commanded 
his disciples to go unto all the world and preach the 
gospel to every creature. One essential difference be- 
tween the church and the fraternity is : the former have 
two set of emblems, baptism and the Lord's supper to 
represent the great and momentous principles of relig- 
ion, while the fraternity up to and including the third 
degree, have more than one hundred symbols and em- 
blems, of the most impressive character, inculcating the 
same sublime, moral and religious truths, and not one of 
them but silently and positively teach the great doctrines 
of the Bible, love to God, our neighbor and ourselves. 
If we are wrong in this, let the church or the world 
point out the error. It will not do to say our religion is 



198 MASONEY, PAST, 

vain, because there are unworthy members in our 
midst, this falls with its full force against the church, 
and our proportions is not more than two out of twelve. 
There was a Judas that betrayed, and a Peter that de- 
nied their Master. Hypocrites are an evidence of the 
genuine, and true, if there were no counterfeits, there 
would be but one religion in our world. And St. John 
the Baptist, and St. John the Evangelist, such eminent 
patrons of the order, understood this distinctly, and well 
knew that the religion of the fathers, handed down to 
and taught by Solomon, the Saviour, the head of the 
church, and the Apostles, was the same, except 
its sectarian character. And these holy men to 
whom our lodges are now dedicated, went everywhere, 
as heralds of light, preaching peace on earth, good will 
to man, and so often have taught the world that there is 
but one God, one altar, and one religion. 

BETHANY. 

A small village on the south-east side of the Mount 
of Olives, about two miles from Jerusalem. Here was 
performed one of the most stupendous miracles on re- 
cord. Lazarus, says the Son of God, come forth ! and 
the dead struggled into life. Messrs. Fisk and King 
were at Bethany in the spring of 1823, and were shown 
the very spot where Lazarus was raised from the grave, 
and a part of the house where he lived. The two John's 
often visited Bethany, in company with their Divine 
Mastep, but all is dreary desolation now. 

BROOK CEDEON. 

A small stream, separating Jerusalem from the Mount 
of Olives, and forms the eastern bounds of the ancient 
city, as it was in the dav of Solomon, into whose limpid 
waters the tears of the Son of God fell fresh and fast, as 
it gurgled on its course unruffled by the dreadful scene 
that it had just witnessed. About twenty rods from the 
brook is 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 199 



GETHSEMANE, 



A lovely, secluded spot, containing about an acre, on 
the west side of the Mount of Olives, in full view of 
Jerusalem. Messrs Fisk and King visited this memora- 
ble spot, in 1823. They say it still contains eight large 
and remarkable looking olives, whose trunks show their 
great antiquity, These hoary relics of the past, it is 
thought, have stood more than two thousand years, and 
shade the place where the Son of God groaned in his 
Spirit, and sweat, as it were, drops of blood, falling to 
the ground. — Luke 22 : 44. 

CALVARY 

Is about a half of a mile north of Jerusalem, on a slight 
elevation, or one of the peaks of Mount Moriah — fre- 
quently Mount Moriah, Lisen and Calvary were called 
by the same name ; they were but one mountain. — It is 
called Golgotha, the Place of the Skull, either from its 
shape or because it was used by the Romans as a place 
to execute their criminals. The traveler, of whatever 
creed or religion, lingers long upon this hallowed spot. 
Many Masons have visited Calvary within a few years. 
Nearly the whole city of Jerusalem went out to witness 
this scene, so graphically described by the pen of inspi- 
ration. St. John, the Evangelist, true to his Master's 
interest to the last, was there, calm and unmoved, amid 
the convulsions of the world. His soul, unruffled by the 
dreadful array around him, in its loftiest aspirations, 
held a secret and holy communion with God, and most 
devoutly believed that, when his labors in the earthly 
lodge should close, he would be admitted into the world 
of light and glory where the Supreme Architect of the 
Universe presides. Not a place on the globe ever wit- 
nessed such a scene. Kingdoms have been overthrown, 
whole nations gone down in a day, but no fall of em- 
pires has ever presented to our view the vast unknown, 
but glorious future, or painted, through the opening 
clouds, the pathway to Heaven. Here our grand mas- 



200 MASONKY, PAST, 

ter, St. John, the Evangelist, felt the full force of that 
religion he had professed, and the sustaining power of 
those principles he had so often inculcated in the lodge 
while he was bishop at Ephesus, and elsewhere. Here 
he was dazzled and overwhelmed with the splendor of 
that true light which lighteth every man that cometh 
into the world. It flashed out upon this hallowed spot 
and blazed forth in all its glory, illumining the dark- 
ness of earth with the effulgence of Heaven. Onr grand 
master was present after the crucifixion and assisted Jo- 
seph in taking the body from the cross, and laid it away 
for a more decent burial in Joseph's new tomb. It 
is said by modern travelers that this tomb is still to be 
seen. This mighty man of God, and eminent Mason, 
was among the first to communicate the glad tidings of 
a risen Saviour. We shall not, then, remain in dark- 
ness forever. The grave is not a dreamless sleep that 
knows no waking. There is hope through the bright fu- 
ture. A world of light and glory is opening before us. 
The Lion of the tribe of Judah has prevailed ! 

MOUNT OLIVES. 

A late traveler — Bible Dictionary, p. 473, 474 — says 
this mountain is about a mile in length, and nearly sev- 
en hundred feet in hight, overlooking Jerusalem on the 
east. Every street and nearly every house is clearly dis- 
cernible from its summit; the river Jordan, the moun- 
tains beyond the Dead Sea, and far in the distance tow- 
er in awful and majestic grandeur the mountains of 
Moab; and here, too, is Nebo, where Moses died. It 
will be remembered our Saviour, from the Mount of 
Olives, was taken up into Heaven. John the Evange- 
list was present, a.d beheld the scene. And the Saviour 
lifted up his hands and blessed them. And it came to 
pass while he blessed them, he was parted from them, 
and carried up into Heaven — Luke 24 : 51. 

The hallowed associations that linger around these 
holy mountains — It will be remembered that lodges were 
first held upon the highest hills or in the lowest vales, — 






PRESENT AND FUTURE. 201 

Moriah, Zion, Calvary, Olivet, Sinaih, Horeb, and many 
others, can never be effaced from the mind of the frater- 
nity as long as light shall cheer, promises encourage, 
and Almighty power sustain us in our work. How 
beautiful, how grand, and how sublime, must be the 
view of Ancient Craft Masonry which connects it with 
all time, all ages, all generations, and the redemption of 
the world ! Land of the Saviour's tomb, says Lamer- 
tine, is the boundary of two worlds, the ancient and the 
modern — the present and the future. From this point 
issued a truth that has renewed the universe ; a civiliza- 
tion that has transformed all things ; a word that has 
echoed over the world ! — 1 Land. Phil., p. 277. 

On the eternal summit of Moriah the Holy Lodge was 
held ; our fathers worshipped there, illumined by the 
light of other days ; and an ascending Saviour threw 
upon it the blaze of immortality. The transactions of 
that Mount, says Br. Scott in his Analogy, p 247 ; its 
beautiful and sublime associations ; their connection 
with events which transpired on the fraternity of hills 
which had witnessed signs, tokens and ceremonies, and 
heard the worshippers of the true God chanting the in- 
spired songs of the Prophet King, all belong to our ma- 
sonic lore. In these momentous events we behold our 
Great High Priest — The Knight Templar understands 
perfectly this allusion — and Intercessor hath entered, by 
his own blood, the Most Holy Place, having obtained 
eternal redemption for us, and put away sin by the sac- 
rifice of himself — Hebrews 9 : 26 ; — so that they have 
boldness to enter info the holiest by His blood, by the 
new and living way which he has consecrated through 
the veil, that is to say His flesh — Heb. 10 : 19, 20. — 
Here the promise, so steadily kept alive through the 
dark ages by our ancient brethren, that the seed of the 
woman should bruise the serpent's head, was fulfilled ; 
the Son of God fought the world's hard battles single- 
handed and alone, and conquered. And is it not true 
that all well informed Masons believe the veil of the 
Temple is rent in twain, and that the doctrine of the Re- 



202 MASONRY, PAST, 

surrection, so clearly illustrated by the Apostle in 15th 
1st Cor. is firmly believed in and most strictly adhered 
to by the fraternity throughout the world ? Nor are the 
scenes which transpired at Jerusalem, upon the holy 
mountains, witnessed by our grand masters, of a doubt- 
ful character. Upon this foundation we stand or fall. 
Masonry and the Church well know that it is nothing 
less than a belief in the existence of miracles and proph- 
ecies pointing steadily through the long roll of ages to 
one all-absorbing event — the redemption of the world 
by the Son of God. If this element of belief be stricken 
from our lodges, all the degrees pertaining to the order 
would be unmeaning, and we left to grope our way in 
darkness, having no light to shed its hallowed beams 
upon our pathway, or fix our hope firmly upon Heaven. 
But those sublime mysteries referring to the fulfill- 
ment of prophecies, the star in the east, so distinctly un- 
derstood by us, are always impressive and deeply inter- 
esting. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

River Jordan — Valley of Jehosapnat — Ethiopia — Joppa — Masonry a 
Pioneer to all True Religion. 

RIVER JORDAN, 

On whose banks so many scenes of thrilling interest, to 
the fraternity transpired. It rises in the dark moun- 
tains of Lebanon, and rolls its sluggish waters and en- 
ters into the Dead Sea between Succotb and Zeredatha, 
near the place where the Israelites crossed the Jordan 
into the land of Canaan, one thousand six hundred and 
sixty-five years before John the Baptist stood upon its 
banks, crying, behold the Lamb of God, that taketh 
away the sins of the world. And at this particular 
place the battle was fought between Jeptha, Judge of 
Is rael, and the Ephraimites. The latter were defeated 



PKESEIST AJSTD FUTUKE. 203 

with a tremendous slaughter, and it is said, forty and 
two thousand fell in one day. 

THE VALLEY OF JEHOSEPHAT. 

This is a narrow glen running north and south be- 
tween Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives. It took its 
name either from King Jehosephat, who was buried 
there, or from the great victory he obtained over the 
Moabites and their allies. The Brook Cedron flows 
through this valley. It is alluded to in Job, 3 : 12. Let 
the heathen be weakened and come up to the valley of 
Jehosephat, for there will I sit and judge all the heathen 
round about. The meaning of Jehosephat is, Judgment. 

ETHIOPIA, 

Is understood by modern travelers to be the south of 
Egypt, including the modern countries of Nuba and 
Abyssinia to the first boundaries of this kingdom, from 
the most authentic account, is over a thousand miles 
from Jerusalem. The Queen of Sheba, who came to see 
the wisdom of Solomon, dwelt here. In the days of 
Solomon an extensive commerce was carried on between 
Ethiopia and Palestine. The country is mountainous, 
the men tall, athletic, well proportioned, but exceeding- 
ly savage, cruel and vindictive ; the abode of robbers, 
murderers and criminals, who had fled from justice in 
other countries. Persons traveling from Jerusalem, 
must either pass down the Red Sea on the west, or the 
Persian Gulf on the east, or cross the great desrt of 
Arabia. 

JOPPA, 

Is one of the oldest town of Asia, situated on a sandy 
promontory jutting out from the eastern coast of the 
Mediterranean, and about thirty miles north-west of Jer- 
usalem, three of its sides are washed by the sea. It is 
still the principal sea port of the land of Judah, and of 
great commercial importance, Ez. 3 : 7. The modern 
city of Joppa is surrounded by a wall twelve or fifteen 



204 MASONKY, PAST, 

feet high, and contains about four thousand inhabitants. 
It was a prominent place in the history of the Crusa- 
ders, and in the Egyptian campaigns of Bonaparte. 

Messrs. Fisk and King, American Missionaries lodged 
there in the Spring of 1823, in the house occupied by the 
British Consul, which stands on the very spot where 
tradition says, Simon the tanner lived. Acts. 9 : 43. La 
Fetras, a celebrated French traveler, who had spent 
many years in Palestine, informed the author that 
he had sat in a lodge in Joppa in the year 1858, where 
were jews, Greeks, Mahomedans, English, French, and 
Americans, though he could not understand a word that 
was spoken, yet he comprehended distinctly, every part 
of the ceremony. The lodge was opened and the third 
degree conferred upon a sea captain while he was present. 
Nothing, he adds, can equal the sublimity of this an- 
cient work. How true it is, among all civilized nations, 
in every language and kindred under the whole heaven, 
the great and mighty men of the earth are rejoicing in 
the strong light ot Masonry, triumphing over the super- 
stitious prejudices, and darkness of the world, combin- 
ing their loftiest energies to spread abroad the princi- 
ples of the order. There never was a time since Solo- 
mon's day that Masonry was better understood, or 
gained a more permanent hold upon the public mind than 
at present. Old Masons sometimes apprehend confusion 
in the future among the workmen, material, they say, is 
coming in too fast, and some of them cannot, with all 
the skill of the overseer, be adjusted to any part of the 
building, but time and experience will work a remedy. 
Masonry in our view, based upon the Bible, as it cer- 
tainly is, presents the only consistent religion, the only 
foundation where all the nations of the earth can build 
without schism, discord or confusion of creeds or sects, 
Upon this primitive rock our forefathers built up Mason- 
ry, plain, simple. grand and glorious,with an eye,keen and 
penetrating far into the future,they saw the tide of ages in 
relentless fury would sweep by and dash unceasingly its 
wild waves against it, yet, she looks calmly out upon the 



PKESENT AND FUTURE. 205 

storm, and smiles serenely at the angry elements that have 
spent their wildest commotions in vain around her. 
Brethren, there is something God-like in this unparallel- 
ed endurance, Our forefathers, with a trust in God, a 
firm step, a heart that quailed not, an eye undimmed, 
and a hand that never trembled, they marched steadily 
and triumphantly forward down the stream of time to 
our day. We see, hear and converse with them in the 
same language, use the same form of speech, and, in 
some instances, the very words uttered by them before 
the flood. Though they have passed away, yet their 
works and their memories will live forever. The same 
All-Seeing Eye — not a sparrow falls without its notice — 
that watched over the fraternity in the infancy of the 
world will, with a jealous care, see to it that his work in 
the temple is faithfully performed in every part of the 
globe. From our enemies we have nothing to fear. All 
the efforts of kingly wrath, which at times have been 
mighty and tremendous, to subvert the order and over- 
throw our fabric, have, in every instance, most signally 
failed. All attacks against Masonry have produced an 
effect entirely contrary to their anticipations, and the 
blows aimed at us have fallen with redoubled power up- 
on their own .heads. The vindictive assaults that have 
so frequently been made by political and ecclesiastical 
demagogues have only tended to strengthen our hearts 
and stimulate our energies to greater exertions, to go 
forward in our work. And those tyrants who have 
waged a relentless war against morals and religion, held 
sacred by the fraternity, would destroy the peace of so- 
ciety, subvert the order, harmony and government of 
the world, and dethrone the Deity himself, if they had 
the power. But Masonry, in her darkest days, when 
her numbers were few, bowed meekly before the storm, 
and has risen with new lite and renewed energies to fill 
her divine mission. She is stamped with the seal of 
» immortality and will live forever. 

The eloquent Brother Pike says, without going back 
to grope in the proposed darkness that settled upon the 



206 MASONRY, PAST, 

earth when the Roman empire was tottering to its fall, 
we may safely aver that amid the barbarism that rolled 
its tumultuous waves over Europe for many years after 
the tenth century, masonry stood firmly up, and battled 
with those weltering waters like a great light firmly set 
upon a rock in the midst ot a stormy ocean. From that 
period and downward masonic history sheds a clear and 
brilliant light. Her mission on earth has been that of a 
great teacher of knowledge, morality and religion. Her 
tenets shine more and more brightly as the revolving 
years roll on ; her principles glitter with a calm radi- 
ance like a multitute of stars keeping watch at mid- 
night in the broad blue field of Heaven. Such has ever 
been this god-like institution, and such it will be forever. 
No matter how high the station among men, our princi- 
ples can reach him, and urge him onward and upward 
to attain greater perfection and a more lofty summit, 
until the world shall recede from his view and the su- 
blime realities of eternity open before him, and he is 
ushered, triumphant and rejoicing, into that grand lodge 
above where the supreme architect of the universe pre- 
sides. If these are the moral and religious elements of 
the order, it may be asked, why are not all of its mem- 
bers brought immediately under its influence ? This is 
asking rather too much. There is no povver this side of 
heaven that can eradicate evil from our world, or gain a 
complete triumph over sin all at once. The preaching 
of our Saviour and his Apostles, though attended with 
some of the most tremendous miracles the world ever 
saw, did not convert everybody. With over one thou- 
sand millions of our race, the Church, with all her power 
exerted for nearly two thousand years, has, compara- 
tively, accomplished but little. Whole nations are yet 
sunk in heathenism, and idolatry holds its iron sceptre 
over more than three-fourths of the inhabitants of our 
globe. But masonry does throw around her votaries ev- 
ery restraint against vice, and holds out the strongest 
incentives to virtue. She spreads out the light of na- 
ture and the book of Revelation before us, and directs 



PRESENT AND FUTURE, 207 

us by all the elements of our being to follow wherever 
they lead. She teaches us to labor assiduously on earth, 
that our reward may be in Heaven. The imperfection 
in our midst, or in the Church, is not in the principle, 
but in the practice ; not in genuine masonry, but in the 
spurious ; not in the true religion, but in the false ; and 
a member of our order who is only so in profession is no 
more a Mason than a hypocrite is a christian. Such 
men are but dead weights to any organized body, and 
the world is no better than if they had never lived in it. 
Does the church send out her missionaries, we are 
there before them, disseminating the same elements of 
faith and practice, — except sectarianism, — believing in 
but one God, practicing the same moral and religious 
truths. Besides, masonry is a great pioneer of the 
world to all true religion. We have our lodges every- 
where, and among all languages. The fraternity are si- 
lently and steadily at work upon the great tressel board 
of human life for the benefit of our race, to elevate man 
in the scale of being, the noblest work of God as he in- 
tended at first he should be. Besides, in addition to the 
light that blazes and flashes out from almost every quar- 
ter of the globe, the grand lodges have their missiona- 
ries, or lecturers, — one who is sent, — of high moral cha- 
racter, whose indefatigable lives are devoted to the great 
object of their mission — peace on earth, and good will 
toward men. They teach the Holy Bible, and nothing 
else, as a rule and guide to our faith and practice. They 
have been signally blessed and encouraged by every in- 
dication of a merciful providence to proceed, and will 
be rewarded according to their works until they are ad- 
mitted into that world of light and glory where their 
grand master has gone to prepare mansions for them. 
And there never was a period since Solomon's day, and 
we have every assurance thousands of years before, that 
the order became extinct, or the light entirely extin- 
guished ; there never was a time when duly constituted 
lodges did not exist somewhere, even amid the warring 
elements of political or religious strife, when the world 



208 MASONRY PAST, 

was deluged in blood and an impenetrable darkness 
brooded over and settled down upon the earth. Yet her 
light shone steadily through this impervious gloom, and 
now blazes forth with increasing brightness in every 
valley and on every mountain top throughout the land. 



CHAPTEK XVII. 

Masonry of Washington — His Initiation — Masonry of Lafayette — 
of Franklin — Presidents of the United States, Masons. 

MASONRY OF WASHINGTON. 

Of all great men, says Guizot, one of the Ministers of 
the late king of the French, quoted in Goodrich's Amer- 
ican History, p. 580, Washington was the most virtuous, 
and the most fortunate in this world. . God has no high- 
er favors to bestow. A writer in the Edinburgh Review 
expresses himself equally honorable to the American 
Fabious : If profound sagacity, unshaken steadiness of 
purpose, the entire subjugation of all the passions, 
which carry havoc through ordinary minds, and often- 
times lay waste the fairest prospects of greatness, nay 
the discipline of those feelings, that are wont to lull or 
seduce genius, and to mar and to cloud over the aspect 
of virtue herself, joined with, or rather leading to the 
most absolute self denial, the most habitual and exclu- 
sive devotion to principle. If these things can consti- 
tute a great character, then Washington was the greatest 
man that ever lived in this world, uninspired by Divine 
wisdom, and unsustained by supernatural virtue. Lord 
Brougham, in his masterly essays on public character 
says, this is the consummate glory of the great American, 
a triumphant warrior where the most sanguine had a 
right to despair, a successful ruler in all the difficulties 
in a course wholly untried ; but a warrior whose sword 
only left its sheath when the first law of our nature com- 
manded it to be drawn. A ruler who, having tasted of 
supreme power, greatly and unostentatiously b desired 



PRESENT AHD FUTURE. 209 

that the cup might pass from him, nor would he suffer 
more to wet his lips than the most solemn and sacred 
duty to his country and his God required. It will be 
the duty ot the historian and the sage, in all ages, to 
omit no occasion of commemorating this illustrious man 
until time shall be no more. "Will a test of the progress 
which our race has made in wisdom and in virtue, be 
derived from the veneration paid to the immortal Wash- 
ington. Everywhere, in seasons of trial, peril, and almost 
hopeless despondency, he placed his reliance upon God, 
who holds in his hands the fate of men and nations. 
His hopes for his country were founded more upon the 
righteousness of her cause, and on the blessings of Hea- 
ven, than on the number or strength of his army. Of 
his religion he made no parade, of his virtues no 
boast, but he was ever true to the forms and institutions 
of religion, and it was this trust in God that enabled 
him, in the closing moments of his life to say, " I am 
not afraid to die." Washington, says another eminent 
writer, stands almost alone in the world, he occupies a 
region where there are, unhappily for mankind, but few 
inhabitants. The Grecian biographer could easily find 
parallels for Alexander and Csesar, but were he living 
now he would find great difficulty in selecting one for 
Washington. There seems to be an elevation of moral 
•excellence, which, though possible to attain, few ever 
approach, as, in ascending the lofty peaks of the Andes 
we at length arrive at a line where vegetation ceases, 
and where the principles of life seem extinct; so it is in 
the gradations of human character, there is an elevation 
which is never attained by mortal man. A few have ap- 
proached it, but none nearer than Washington. He is emi- 
nently conspicuous as one of the greatest benefactors of the 
human race, for he not only gave liberty to millions, but 
his name now stands,and will forever stand, a noble exam- 
ple to high and low. He is a great work of the Almighty 
A rtist, which none can study without receiving purer 
iceas and more lofty conceptions of the grace and beau- 
14 



210 MASONRY, PAST, 

ty of the human character. He is one that all may copy 
at different distances, and whom none can imitate with- 
out receiving lasting and salutary impressions of the 
sterling value, the inexpressible beauty of piety, integ- 
rity, courage and patriotism, associated with a clear, 
vigorous and well poised intellect. Pure and widely 
disseminated as is the fame of this great and goo i man, 
it is yet in its infancy. It is every day taking deeper 
root in the hearts of his countrymen and the estimation 
of strangers, and spreading its branches wider and 
wider to the air and the skies. He is already become 
the saint of liberty, which has gathered new honors by 
being associated with his name. And when men aspire 
to free nations, they must take him for a model. It is, 
then, not without ample reason, that the suffrages of 
mankind have combined to place Washington at the 
head of his race. If we estimate him by the examples 
recorded in history, he stands without a parallel in the 
virtues exhibibited, and the most unprecedented conse- 
quences resulting from their exercise. The whole world 
was the theater of his actions, and all mankind were des- 
tined to partake, sooner or later, in their results. He is 
the hero of a new species. He had no model, neither 
will he have any imitators. Time, which bears the 
thousands and thousands of common tyrants to the 
ocean of oblivion, only adds new luster to his fame, new 1 
fame to his example, new strength to the reverential af- 
fection of all good men. What a glorious fame was his, 
to be acquired without guilt and enjoyed without envy ; 
to be cherished by millions living, hundreds of millions 
yet unborn. Let the children of my country prove 
themselves worthy of his virtues, his labors, his sacri- 
fices, by reverencing his name and imitating his piety, 
integrity, industry, fortitude, patience, forbearance and 
patriotism. So shall they be fitted to enjoy the bless- 
ings of freedom and the bounties of heaven. 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 211 

INITIATION OF WASHINGTON INTO THE MYSTERIES OF MA- 
SONRY. 

The following is from the Masonic Union, published 
by the R. W. Finley M. King, late Grand Master of the 
Grand Lodge of the State of JS T ew York : 

Fredericksburg lodge, No. 4, of Fredericksburg, Vir- 
ginia, claims the honor of initiating General George 
"Washington into the mysteries of Freemasonry, on the 
4th day of November, 1752. Bro. Robert J. Morrison, 
the W. M. of that lodge, had with him, while on a visit 
to this city, a short time since, the old record book, show- 
ing the fact, and also the Bible used by that lodge at his 
initiation. As Bro. Moore is generally careful in ac- 
quiring the information he gives to his readers, I will 
copy from the Freemasons' Monthly Magazine a portion 
of his leader of this month on that subject: Our read- 
ers will be gratified to learn that the members of Fred- 
ericksburg lodge, No. 4, have resolved on and are taking 
active measures for the erection of a Masonic monument 
to the memory of their illustrious and world-honored 
brother, General Washington. It is a noble undertaking 
and originates in the right place Fredericksburg was 
the early home of Washington. He there spent, many 
of his youthful days. There the remains of his honored 
mother repose. There he first saw the light and pro- 
nounced the vows of Masonry. And there still exists 
and nourishes the lodge to which the high hunor of hav- 
ing initiated him belongs. One hundred years have 
rolled away since that occurrence, still the record of it 
is there — the Bible is there — and around them and the 
place still cluster, and will forever cluster, the fond re- 
collections of an event which has shed imperishable 
honor on the whole Masonic fraternity of the w:>rld. 

It is only necessary to visit the Lodge Room in Alex- 
andria. You will there see the charter of Alexandria 
Lodge to George Washington, Esquire, Robert McOrae, 
William Hunter, Jr., John Allison and others, authori- 
sing them to hold a Lodge of Free and ^Accepted Ma- 



212 MAS0FRT, PAST, 

sons. The charter is from the Grand Lodge of Virginia, 
dated 28th April, 1788, and signed by Edmund Ran- 
dolph, Grand Master, and William Waddell, Grand Sec- 
retary. There, is the identical chair in which he sat 
while presiding over the lodge. There, the apron and 
Bash which he wore on these occasions — the same which 
were worked by the hand of Madame LaFayette and 
6ent to General Washington soon after the close of the 
Revolution, and recognized by LaFayette himself when 
visiting this lodge in 1824. 

In the lodge room is a small cabinet covered with 
glass, in which are garnered up numerous momentos of 
Washington, among which I recollect a pearl handle 
penknife, given him when twelve years old by bis mo- 
ther, and in his possession fifty-six years — a pruning 
knife, his farm spurs, a pair of white buckskin gloves, 
worn when he was president and in mourning tor his 
mother — a small box made from Shakspeare's mulberry 
tree, and a staff from the Isle of Patmos, with a beauti- 
ful carved head of St. John the Evangelist on its top. 
These two last was sent to General Washington from 
abroad, and after his death was given to this lodge. 
There were many other things in the cabinet which I do 
not recollect. But there is enough there to show con- 
clusively his connection with the institution and his at- 
tachment to it, to the day of his death. 

With the profound est veneration and respect for the 
character and memory of the illustrious individual who 
had so often occupied it, I seated myself in the chair of 
Washington, when Master of Alexandria Lodge. 

Alexandria is seven miles from this city and nine from 
Mount Vernon, which place I propose to visit within a 
day or to. 

Yours, 

ANSWER. 

To the Master, Wardens and Brethren of King David's 
Lodge, in Neioport, R. I. 

Gentlemen : — I received the welcome which you give 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 213 

me to Rhode Island, and with pleasure, and I acknowl- 
edge my obligations far the flattering expressions of re- 
gard contained in your address, with grateful sincerity. 
Being persuaded that a just application of the principles 
on which the Masonic Fraternity is founded, must be 
promotive of private virtue and public prosperity, I 
shall always be happy to advance the interests of the 
society, and to be considered by them as a deserving 
brother. My best wishes, Gentlemen, are offered for 
your individual happiness. 

Geo. "Washington. 

ANSWER. 

To the Grand Lodge of South Carolina, Ancient York 

Masons : 

Gentlemen : — I am much obliged by the respect which 
you are so good as to declare for my public and private 
character. I recognize with pleasure my relation to the 
brethren of our society, and I accept, with gratitude, 
your congratulation on my arrival in South Caroliua. 

Your sentiments on the establishment and exercise of 
our equal government, are worthy of an association 
whose principles lead to purity of morals, and are bene- 
ficial of action. 

The fabric of our freedom is placed on the enduring 
basis of public virtue, and will, I fondly hope, long con- 
tinue to protect the prosperity of the architects who 
raised it. 

I shall be happy, on every occasion, to evince my re- 
gard for the fraternity. For your prosperity, individu- 
alty, I offer my best wishes. 

Geo. Washington. 

Masonic Hall, Fredricksbtjrg Lodge, No. 4, ) 

Fredericksburg, Va., June 7th, 1852. f 

R. W. A. O'Sullivan, G. Secretary, St. Louis, Mo. :— 

Your favor of the 28th ultimo, asking information 
in relation to the initiation, passing and raising of 
our illustrious brother, George Washington, came to 
hand this day, and it affords me pleasure to give you 



214 i MA SONET, PAST, 

the information asked for. The first time his name ap- 
pears in the record, is on the 4th of November, A. I) , 
1752, A. L., 5752, with others ; (brethren who were 
present at that meeting ;) and on the sixth of the same 
month, the secretary credits his account by the initiation 
fee. On the third of March, A. D., 1753. A. L., 5753, 
George Washington is recorded as Passed Fellow Craft ; 
and on the fourth of August, A. D., 1753, A. L., 5753, 
there is a full record of the meeting, with the names of 
those present, and it is entered : Transaction of the even- 
ing — George Washington raised Master Mason, Thomas 
James, entered an Apprentice. 

The record or proceedings of the lodge were not 
written out so fully at that time as they are at present. 
Fraternally, 

Eobt. W. Hart, 
Secretary <>f Fredericksburg Lodge, No. 4. 

ANSWER. 

[The following answer was received and 'communica- 
ted to the Grand Lodge, June 12, 5797.] 

" To the Grand Lodge of Ancient, Free and Accepted 
Masons in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts : 

k< Brothers: — It was not until within these few days 
that lhave been favored by the receipt of your affectionate 
address, dated in Boston, the 21st of March. 

"For the favorable sentiments you have been pleased 
to express on the occasion of my past services, and tor 
the regrets with which they are accompanied for the 
cessation of my public function, I pray you to accept 
my best acknowledgments and gratitude. 

" No pleasure, except that which results to the con- 
sciousness of having, to the utmost of my abilities, dis- 
charged the trusts which have been reposed in me by 
my country, can equal the satisfaction I feel from the 
unequivocal proofs I continually receive of its approba- 
tion of my public conduct ; and 1 beg you to be assured 
that the evidence thereof, which is exhibited by the 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 215 

Grand Lodge of Massachusetts, is not among the least 
pleasing or grateful to my feelings. 

'■• In that retirement, which declining years induced 
me to seek ; and which to a mind long employed in 
public concerns, rendered necessary; my wishes, that 
bounteous Providence will continue to bless and pre- 
serve our country in peace, and in the prosperity it has 
enjoyed, will be warm and sincere and my attachment 
to the society of which we are members, will dispose me 
always to contribute my best endeavurs to promote the 
honor and interest of the Cratt. 

" For the prayer you offered in my behalf, I entreat 
you to accept the thanks of a grateful heart; with as- 
surance of fraternal regard, and my best wishes for the 
honor, happiness, and prosperity of all the members of 
the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts. 

"Geo. Washington." 

ANSWER. 

To the Ancient York Masons of the Jurisdiction of 
Pennsylvania : 

Gentlemen and Brethren : — I received your kind 
congratulations with the purest sensations of Fraternal 
affection ; and from a heart deeply impressed with your 
generous wishes for my present and future happiness, I 
beg you to accept my thanks. 

At the same time, I beg you will be assured of my 
best wishes and earnest prayer for your happiness while 
you remain in this terrestrial mansion ; and that we 
may hereafter meet as Brethren in the Eternal Temple 
of the Supreme Architect. 

Geo. Washington. 

When war broke out between the States and the 
mother country, and he became divided from the broth- 
ers of his adoption, in feeling, in communion of soul, he 
was their brother still. The Masonic chart of the 46th, 
by the chance of war, fell into the hands of the Ameri- 
cans ; they reported the circumstance to Gen. Washing- 



216 MASONRY, PAST, 

ton, who embraced the opportunity of testifying his ad- 
miration of Masonry in the most marked and gratifying 
manner, by directing that a guard of honor, under the 
command of a distinguished officer, should take charge 
of the chart, with many articles of value belonging t3 
the 46th, and return them to the regiment. The surprise, 
the feeling of both officers and men may be imagined, 
when they perceived the flag of truce that announced 
this elegant compliment from their noble opponent, but 
still more noble brother. It was a scene of moral beau- 
ty, a triumphant vindication of the purity of Masonic 
principles. The guard of honor, with their flutes, play- 
ing a sacred march ; the chest containing the Constitu- 
tion and the implements of the craft, borne aloft, like 
another ark of the covenant, equally by Englishmen and 
Americans, who, lately engaged in the strife of war, 
now marched through the enfiladed ranks of the gallant 
regiment, that with presented arms and colors, hailed 
the glorious act with cheers, which the sentiment rend- 
ered sacred as the hallellujahs of an angel's song. 



Having the Record Book showing the fact, Fredericks- 
burg thus far has the advantage. It is a glorious prin- 
ciple in Masonry which inculcates " Brotherly love, Be- 
lief and Truth," as it is, "That Masonry knows no coun- 
try, sect or opinion.'' It certainly is a cause of exulta- 
tion and pride that Washington became a Mason, and 
above all that he cherished its principles, and reduced 
them to practice. But it is of little interest to us as Ma- 
sons, to know where or by whom he was initiated ; 
therefore, we can with great propriety, and should lay 
aside our national partialities in question, purely Ma- 
sonic. Were we to sutler our national feelings to bear 
upon the case, we wouhl glory in the fact that our breth- 
ren in England are endeavoring to vie with us in hon- 
oring our Washington, and that they are exulting in the 



PEESENT AND PUTITEE. 217 

belief that they have the honor of bringing him into the 
fraternity. 

Yours truly and Fraternally, 

JOSEPH D. EYANS, 
(Late Grand Master of the State of New York.) 

In conveying the chest above, "Tell their General," 
said Washington, "I do not war against morals and re- 
ligion, but against the enemies of my country." 

To the Masters of the Lodges under the jurisdiction of 
the Grand Lodge if Iowa : 

Prompted by a feeling of the highest regard and fra- 
ternal respect for the memory of our illustrious brother, the 
father of our common country, I most gladly avail myself 
of an opportunity to unite with my brethren of the various 
jurisdictions of this land of freedom, in their contempla- 
ted design to unite in an universal manifestation of their 
love for the man, the Mason — for his unsurpassed ser- 
vices to his fellow-man, and his firm and lasting attach- 
ment and devotion to our order and its principles ; and 
accordingly recommend to the fraternity and the lodges 
of Iowa, the observance of the fourth day of November 
next, the centennial anniversary of the initiation into 
our mystic rites, of George "Washington. 

It hris been a talisman to awake from their lethargy 
of ages the down-trodden and slumbering millions of 
the world, and it has bidden them to hope. The divine 
light of his. hallowed spirit yet moves and radiates upon 
the face of society and calls a responsive echo from the 
throbbing heart of "the people" in every land. The 
influence it exerts, the progress it makes in the disen- 
thralment of mankind, can no more be stopped by the 
puny arm of the despot — the tyrant, than can the count- 
less orbs that are wheeling through space at the will of 
the Almighty. Brothers, the original embodiment of 
that spirit took upon himself the name, the title and the 
character of a Mason ! He mingled in the labors of the 
lodge room and performed the duties of its office he Let 



218 MASONRY, PAST, 

us, therefore, celebrate and commemorate the anniver- 
sary of his Masonic birth. 

You are, therefore, ordered to present this subject to 
the consideration of jour lodge, for their action, at the 
first regular communication after notice, (or earlier, if 
you think proper,) when it is hoped that they will, sing- 
ly, or in union with other lodges in their vicinity, pro- 
vide for celebrating the event with appropriate ceremo- 
nies. 

To this end full and ample authority is hereby given, 
for each lodge to appear in regalia and procession on 
that day. 

And I do further recommend, that a collection in each 
lodge be taken up, and the amount forwarded to our R. 
W. G. Treasurer, Barnet Ristine, of Fairfield, to be ex- 
pended in procuring a stone, with a suitable inscription, 
for the Washington Monument. 

Given under my hand and the seal of the Grand 
Lodge, at Muscatine, this 27th day of August, A. L. 
5852. 

[l. s.] T. S. PARVIN, 

Grand Master. 

The evidences are numerous and significant ; all go to 
establish the fact without the fear of contradiction, that 
Washington was a Free and Accepted Mason. See Ma- 
sonic Union, Nov. 1852, vol. 5. R. W., Win. H.Drew, 
grand lecturer of the State of New York, informed the 
author that he had recently sat in the very lodge where 
Washington was initiated, passed and raised, and 
handled with his own hands the Holy Bible used on that 
memorable occasion. 

He acted as grand master at the laying of the corner 
stone of the capitol of the United States of America, 
on the 18th day of September, 1798. See Bro. T. Law- 
rence', M. D., Address, June 24th, 1854, before Wood- 
bury Lodge, No. 149. Washington died on Friday, 
December 13th, 1799, in the sixty eighth year of his 
age, and was buried with Masonic honors. More than 



PRESEHT AND FUTURE. .219 

one hundred years have rolled down the flood of time 
since he manifested his confidence in the enduring prin- 
ciples of Masonry, by declaring his allegiance to the 
time honored usages of this ancient order. Since then 
how changed has the world become ; what a vast labor- 
atory ot historic facts mark the annals of the progress 
of mankind ; but let them all be written on one vast page 
like God's eternal skies, the name of Washington, em- 
blazoned in letters of light, would appear resplendent 
and glorious in front, and above all others, casting its 
hallowed influence upon everything that was great and 
God-like. Wherever the story of his greatness and 
patriotic services has traveled, it has elicited the admir- 
ation and homage of mankind, indeed, among all civil- 
ized nations, his name is identified with all that is wise 
and pious and patriotic. By the aged warriors of our 
western tribes, he is still remembered as our great 
father, his name is familiar to the wandering Bedouin, 
and his fame has penetrated to the mountain fastnesses 
of the Tartar, and in all future time it will grow bright- 
er, and shine with increased effulgence, as ages roll on. 
We cannot refrain from quoting a few words before 
closing this short sketch of the illustrious Washington 
from the celebrated Mr. Fox, in the British Parliament, 
in a speech delivered during Washington's second Pres- 
idential term : Illustrious man, he said, deriving less hon- 
or from the splendor ot his situation than the dignity of his 
mind, before whom all borrowed greatness sinks into insig- 
nificance, and all the potentates of Europe become little 
and contemptible. Washington, said Napoleon, is dead, 
the great man fought against tyranny, he established the 
liberty of his country, his memory will always be dear 
to the French people, as it will be to all freemen of the 
two worlds, his name will live in the annals of fame, 
while mine is sunk in the vortex of revolution ; and we 
might add, in the language of another, " His country is 
his monument, and her history his epitaph." 

Washington had a lodge in the army, presided in per- 
son as master, conferring the degrees on his subaltern 



220 MASONRY, PAST, 

officers and others who were qualified to receive them. 
General Putnam, his Senior Warden, in one of the bat- 
tles of the revolution, was taken prisoner, handed 
over to the Indians, tied to a stake, brush piled around 
him, and the torch applied. General Morgan, a British 
officer, who had ordered him to be given to the Indians, 
rushed through the crowd, drove the Indians asunder, 
scattered the fire brands in every direction, cut the bands 
by which he was bound, clasped him in his arms, Gen- 
eral, said the British officer, you are not only free but 
you are my brother, go in peace. 

How often, as by an electrical shock from the Almighty, 
has the drawn sword been sheathed, the uplifted toma- 
hawk stayed, the ferocity ot fiend changed in an instant, 
and the helpless encircled in the arms of a brother's love. 
How often whole caravans in the great desert have been 
6aved by one of the company being a Mason, furnished 
with necessary comforts, and sent on their way rejoicing, 
How often have the soldiers and prisoners of the late 
war felt the power and magic of our holy religion. 

Space will allow us to mention but one or two instan- 
ces. One of our men fell in the heat of battle within 
the enemies lines, an Adjutant of the rebel army came 
dashing by with the speed of the wind, halted in an in- 
stant. What do you want my brave boy ? I am wounded 
and bleeding to death, unless I can get relief soon 1 must 
die. Call a surgeon instantly, said the officer, bind up 
his wounds, and when he is sufficiently recovered he 
shall be exchanged and go to his home. That man is 
living in our village to-day, and one of our most respect- 
able citizens. 

Another was taken prisoner and confined in Libby 
prison. "I say," said he, "Guard, do you know any 
men in your regiment who are Masons?" "I don't 
know," he replied, a but have heard that the colonel is 
one." " I wish you would ask him to come here.'' The 
colonel came in a moment. " What do you want, my 
good fellow ?" U I am starving to death. Unless I can 
get something I can relish I must die. I have a wife 



PKESENT AND FUTUKE. 221 

and five children at home." "Here," said the colonel, 
pulling out a roll of money, "go and buy what you can 
eat, and when you are sufficiently recovered, you shall 
be exchanged. Guards, don't you stop this man; let 
him go in and out as often as he pleases." And that 
man is alive and well to-day, holding one of the most 
responsible stations in our midst. This Masonry has 
done a thousand times over, and will concinue to do 
so until the end of the world. What religious organi- 
zation can do as much ? Suppose these men, in their 
death struggles, had said, " I am a member of a Chris- 
tian church." Would that have saved them? And is 
not this carrying out the Godlike principles of our 
Saviour — pray for your enemies, do good unto them 
that despitefully use you — and is not this religion ? 



CHAPTER XIX . 

Masonry of Lafayette — Benjamin Franklin — Presidents of the 
United States Masons. 

MASONRY OF LAFAYETTE. 

At what time he was initiated into, and became ac- 
quainted with, the sublime mysteries of Freemasonry, 
we have no means at command of judging, nor is it very 
material. It undoubtedly was before leaving France to 
join the disheartened Americans in their greatest time 
of need. For courage as a soldier, consummate skill as 
a general, love of freedom, indomitable energy, and 
great moral worth, no man in the army of the revolu- 
tion was held in higher esteem by Washington than 
Marquis Lafayette, which the following will illustrate, 
published in the Masonic Union, p. 82 : 

On the occasion of the visit to this country of our il- 
lustrious brother, Lafayette, a new lodge was instituted 
here in honor of his virtues, and to aid in perpetuating 
his name. The lodge had been called together to re- 
ceive the distinguished visitor. Bro. Morgan Neville. 



222 MASONRY, PAST, 

the master of the lodge, being unable to attend on ac- 
count of indisposition, Bro. George Graham, Jr., presid- 
ed in his stead. There were present the following dis- 
tinguished members of the order : George Washington, 
Lafayette and Le Vasseurs, of France/ P. Benson, Esq., 
of Philadelphia, Gov. Desha. Hon. George M. Bibb and 
T. Barry, of Kentucky. G. Willett, G. M. of North Car- 
olina, and some two imudred others. 

After the lodge was opened, Lafayette was introduced, 
and received with the honors of the craft. He was then 
addressed by Bro. George Graham, Jr., W. M.. pro tern. , 
as follow : 

It is with extreme embarrassment I rise to address 
you. It is a duty I had not expected to perform, and it 
is only this moment that I have received a message from 
our worshipful master, Morgan Neville, stating his ina- 
bility to quit his room, directing me to proceed as his 
representative, and to express to you the profound re- 
gret he feels on being prevented from having the honor 
of presiding at the present interesting ceremony. At 
the same time that I properly appreciate the favor con- 
ferred on me in creating me his substitute, I cannot, for- 
bear mourning my own disappointment at his absence, 
convinced, as I am of the nature of those emotions which 
would occupy your bosom on meeting, as the master of 
this lodge, the son and representative of your ancient 
aid and devoted friend. 

Brother, your career through life, distinguished as it 
has been by philanthropy and patriotism, has never 
ceased to interest the virtuous portion of the world. 
Whether we view you as the youthful and accomplished 
nobleman, in possession of wealth and rank, tearing 
himsell from the arms of his lovely biide, and risking 
lite, fortune and fame, in support of American Inde- 
pendence ; or, as the knightly Chieftain of the National 
Guard, correcting with intrepid judgment and delicacy 
the licentiousness of revolutionary brutality ; or, as the 
heroic and inflexible martyr to consistency and virtue, 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 223 

entering the gloomy walls of the dungeon of Olmutz ; — 
equal splendor surrounded your character. 

Since your arrival on our shores, in the evening of 
life, when the prejudices of Europe have subsided, and 
suffered your principles to shine forth in unclouded 
purity, this interest has become doubly intense; but to 
none, beloved brother, is it so much so, as to the commun- 
ity of Masons so thickly spread over the face of the 
IJnion. You have been received by the voluntary ac- 
clamation of a nation of freemen, with which the de- 
mons of envy and malice have not been able to mingle 
one solitary murmur. This has been the most grateful 
to our hearts ; but during this brilliant exhibition of 
public gratitude and personal devotion, there has been 
a frequent recurrence of one fact, which, if possible, has 
been still more gratifying to us. You have lost no op- 
portunity of distinguishing our order by public demon- 
strations of your consideration of it. We have heard of 
your quitting the splendid scenes of the festooned ball, 
where you stood the centre of attraction, more to be en- 
vied than the victor under the triumphal arch, for the 
purpose of meeting our brethren in the lodge of equal- 
ity, and of aiding their operations in the great work of 
philanthropy and benevolence. For this we thank you : 
— you were performing a sacred duty, it is true, and 
this, to Lafayette, carried its onward reward. 

But, brother, other benefits have and will continue to 
result from your conduct on this occasion, which you 
are not aware of — the good effects will be felt by future 
generations of the fraternity. Our successors will hail 
the name of Lafayette ; and widows and orphans will 
cherish his memory long after the youngest brother now 
present shall be admitted to the Celestial Lodge of the 
Supreme Architect of the Universe. For ourselves, we 
thank you : — for the cause of American Masonry, we 
thank you ! 

Your arrival in the United States has furnished a rich 
field for the political historian : — it forms an era in the 
Masonic annals of this country. — among us, at^ least. 



224 MASONKY, PAST, 

We have presumed to elect you an honorary member for 
life — we beg you not to reject our good wishes, but suf- 
fer me to present you with a diploma, and to clothe you 
with this lambskin, which we pray you to accept as an 
humble memorial of our veneration and of our love. 

The Master then presented the General with a diplo- 
ma, and clothed him with an apron, having his likeness 
impressed upon it. He seemed much affected during 
the ceremony, and the tear of deep feeling was more 
than once seen trembling in his eye. During the whole 
of the address he kept Brother Graham's hand clasped 
in his. After he had entered his name he — Lafayette- 
replied as follows : 

Worshipful Master, and Brethren of Lafayette Lodge : 
— I want language to express my feelings on the occa- 
sion of being received into the body of this lodge. The 
compliment offered me in its formation is a novel one, 
and is as delicately tendered as it is gratefully accepted. 
Since my return to this happy country many things have 
struck me with wonder and amazement — the scene now 
passing is not among the least surprising — it is one, the 
memory of which, I will cherish with the most pleasing 
sensations to the last hour of my life. 

To find a splendid and populous city in a place which, 
when I last quitted your shores, was exclusively the 
haunts of the Savage and wild beasts, presents a fact not 
less astonishing than it is pleasing to me, as one of the 
asserters of your Independence. These emotions are 
much enhanced by meeting in such a place so many re- 
spectable members of that order whose leading star is 
philanthropy, and whose principles inculcate an unceas- 
ing devotion to the cause of virtue and morality. 

I sympathize with you, Worshipful, in your regret for 
the indisposition of the Master of the Lodge, Brother 
Morgan Neville. I have already visited him, and tor- 
bidden him coming out on this occasion. If I feel grat- 
ified (and believe me, I do most highly,) at finding a 
Lodge instituted as a mark of respect for me, be assured 
that this gratification is much increased at finding at its 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 225 

head the son of my ancient Aid — -my dear General Ne- 
ville — and grand-son of rny friend, the gallant Morgan. 
Accept, for yourself and brethren, my sincere thanks for 
the pleasing compliments you have paid me. 

If I have, in any way, benefited the cause of Mason- 
ry, the reflection will add to my enjoyment when far 
away from you and your charming city. Persevere in 
the glorious cause of benevolence ; and believe me, 
when I assure you that, although an ocean will separate 
us, yet the recollection of this day will assist much in 
cheering an old man in the evening of his days. 

The General then sat down, much affected, and every 
brother present sympathized deeply in his feelings; It 
was an occasion of thrilling interest — a scene that will 
never be effaced from my memory. 

Tours Fraternally, 

SAMUEL REED. 

MASONRY OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN. 

The following is from Br. Jerome L. Cross 5 Masonic 
Text Book, p. 6, a standard work in all our lodges. On 
the 24th day of June, 1734, upon the petition of sever- 
al brethren residing in Philadelphia, a warrant was 
granted by the Grand Lodge of Boston (St. John's 
Grand Lodge,) for holding a lodge in that place, appoint- 
ing the R. W. Benjamin Franklin, their first master—- 
he must have been a Master Mason long before the above 
date, as no person is entitled to the rank of R. W. with- 
out having taken the preceding degrees — which was the 
beginning of Masonry in Pennsylvania. Does a Solo- 
mon, Hiram, king of Tyre of ancient times ; St. John 
the Baptist, and St. John the Evangelist, in the days of 
our Saviour ; Washington, Lafayette, Franklin, and 
thousand of others, in our own day, whose characters 
are emblazoned in letters of light on the high pages of 
history and revelation, who were zealous and devoted 
patrons of the order, do they hold less consipicuous sta- 
tions in heaven for being Free and Accepted Masons on 
15 



226 1IAS0KRY, PAST, 

earth ? To carry out the principles of the fraternity, as 
exemplified in their lives, would be to write their whole 
history, and transcribe nearly all the memorable events 
of the Revolution. 

PRESIDENTS OF THE UNITED STATES MASONS. 

In the Minor and- Keystone, a very able Masonic 
paper published in Philadelphia, vol. 3, No. 29, p 229, 
we are told, all the Presidents, with the exception of two, 
perhaps three, and at least fifty of the fifty -six signers 
of the Declaration of Independence, are said to have 
been members of the order. Nearly every officer in the 
revolutionary army was also a brother of the mystic tie 
— a lodge being frequently opened in the tent ot Wash- 
ington, he presiding as master, and conferring degrees 
of Masonry upon the subaltern officers. 

The following is from an instructive address delivered 
by Bro. Charles S. McArthur, at Troy, St. John's Day, 
Dec. 27, 5853. 

The history of our fraternity has in all ages, since it 
had an existence, been illustrated and adorned by the 
most illustrious and glorious names which have been 
handed down for the admiration and respect of posteri- 
ty. Goethe, Schiller, Scott and Burns, are among its 
immortal poets ; Frederick the Great, George IV., with 
all his uncles and brothers; Oscar of Sweden, and 
Christian of Denmark, and Ernest of Hanover, are among 
its kings and princes ; Napoleon and all his Marshals 
and Generals, with Nelson, Wellington, Collingford and 
Napier, are among its heroes and warriors ; while Wash- 
ington, Franklin, Lafayette, DeWitt Clinton, Henry Clay, 
and a host of other names dear to the remembrance of 
every American, are among the patriots and sages who 
in our own clime have been active and illustrious mem- 
bers of the Masonic Fraternity. Benjamin Franklin 
was appointed the first master of the first Masonic lodge 
constituted in Pennsylvania, on the 24th of June, 1734. 

But we must pass again : Masonry and religion are 
the same, because there never was any true religion 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 227 

except what is learned in the book of nature or the vol- 
ume of inspiration. Are not these the essential elements 
of our being? Destroy this foundation, Masonry and 
religion fall together. If the one is Divinely inspired 
the other is, because they both relate to and include the 
same deeply interesting truths of man's frailty, weak- 
ness and dependence ; his trust in God to aid him 
through the varied and complicated scenes of human 
life. She never enters into lengthy arguments, or meta- 
physical disquisitions, to prove the existence of God, 
because this is universally admitted by all nations, nei- 
ther does she attempt to solve the mysteries of the Di- 
vine and Holy Being, but simply states the fact of His 
existence, and directs us according to the best light we 
have to worship Him in the beaut] of holiness". Because 
our forefathers everywhere, and under all circumstances, 
have stated distinctly and explicitly that they acted 
under the immediate inspiration of the Almighty. It 
is not within the wide range of human thought to sup- 
pose for a moment they could have had any motive to 
practice deception, nor was it possible the overwhelm- 
ing truths they have given to the world, be the work of 
human invention, if they did not really exist as they 
have stated. Our traditions, the Holy Bible, and the 
history of all nations, confirmed the fact of a primeval 
chaos, when darkness brooded over the face of the deep, 
but by the Omnipotent energies of creative power, the 
world came into being ; chaos fled, and darkness rolled 
away. And is it not true, as is stated by our traditions, 
or has the world for nearly six thousand years been la- 
boring under a delusion, without the possibility of de- 
tecting the error or exposing the falsehood ? Was Moses 
an imposter, and did he intend to deceive the world 
when he states positively in the first of Genesis, what 
did take place, or has it never been created at all? 
Does the church travel outside of these facts to prove or 
sustain her religion ? Neither do we, because we both 
pursue the same course, and arrive exactly at the same 
conclusions. But it will be said, these are matters of 



228 MASOHBY, PAST, 

revelation, and we are bound to receive them. True ? 
but a written law could make known events in the 
history nearly three thousand years before a word of it 
was ever written by Moses. The fraternity invariably 
believe the elements of our holy religion were kept 
steadily alive by the few chosen, and inspired by the 
Almighty himself, for this purpose ages andages before 
Moses' day. We worship God not merely because we 
are directed by the volume of inspiration to do so, 
but it is the very law of our being enstamped upon the 
heart of universal humanity, and no other institution in 
the world uses symbols and emblems to inculcate the 
principles of our holy religion to the same extent. And 
one great object we have in view is to keep alive the 
image of God in the soul, and by untiring exertions to 
increase the light as we advance onward and upwards 
to that lofty eminence of perfection which awaits the 
arrival^of all the faithful and true. The world is our broth- 
erhood; have we not all one father? Has not one God 
created us, and has He not of one blood made all the na- 
tions of men to dwell upon the face of the earth, and is not 
this true that love to God, our neighbor, and ourselves, 
comprise the only true religioD ot the world ? Does 
the Bible teach anything else, or have our brethren been 
deceived for nearly three thousand years as to what con- 
stitutes an acceptable worship to God ? 

Another evidence that the religion of Masonry is 
Divinely inspired, rests upon the fact that she states 
positively, and understands distinctly man's innocence 
and happiness in Eden. This is no wandering thought of 
ours to amuse the ignorant or to excite the at- 
tention of the incredulous, but are sober realities, em- 
bodied into the system of Freemasonry, and held sacred 
by the Fraternity in every age, and has in some way 
been believed in by all nations since the world began. 
But there is also in our religion, open before us, the ter- 
rible fact, that man is a fallen being, that he has drifted 
far away from the moorings of the Divine law, and there 
is a great defect, a want of moral harmony in the com- 



PEBSEHT A:N T D tUTUEE. 229 

plicated machinery of his complex life. A deep awe 
pervades the whole being on beholding the almost 
rain of this mysterious something called man. He now 
stands disrobed of his glorious majesty, but the blurred 
picture of what he once was, the inverted type of Hea- 
ven. Masonry not only sees the evil of man's nature, 
but gives the assurance of hope and fulfills her promise, 
by performing what she says. She does this not merely 
by stating that evil is the absence of good, that it is noth- 
ing more than a kind of negation in the universe des- 
igned to show by contrast the beauty, grandeur and 
holiness of the eternal God, but that it is a terrible re- 
ality, which cost our Saviour his life, and humanity its 
miseries. Masonry never flatters, holds out no delusive 
philosophy, no false religion to her votaries, but tells us 
plainly the willing and the obedient shall eat the good 
of the land ; and this is in perfect accordance with the 
law of justice, written by the finger of God upon every 
human soul. To counteract the evils of our race, to ele- 
vate man in the scale of being, to infix in his heart a 
firm belief in and a longing after immortality, and lift 
his soul to God in its holiest aspirations, is the mission 
she has to fill, and will never falter in the race, or stop 
short in her career until this object is attained. And 
can any religion do more than this? If it cannot, then 
the religion of Masonry is of God. She is aware that 
sin cannot be eradicated from our world in a moment, 
but it is the work of a life time, and is not completed 
this side of eternity. But Masonry understands all this 
must be done before man can fully realize his high des- 
tiny, and live forever in the sunlight of Heaven. But, 
brethren, there is one green spot in this world's wide 
waste where we can bow down before the mercy seat 
and offer our devotions in ascriptions of praise to the 
ever-living God, untrameled by early education, secta- 
rian influence, religious rule, or political power, and this 
is in a good working lodge. The passions of men may 
rage, storms and tempests howl without, but all is quiet- 
ness and peace within. And is not this God's religion, 



230 MASONRY, PAST, 

such as be will own aud accept when our labors in this 
earthly temple shall close; Not an emblem or symbol 
— and we have more than a hundred used in different 
ways, but what teach these solemn and deeply interest- 
ing truths. 

"Why is it, we ask, that our ceremonies to represent the 
truths of our holy religion, in coming down to us have 
passed through thousands of generations without the 
slightest variation, and the inhabitants of the earth, al- 
most to a man, have testified that they are true ? The 
deluge for instance, if it had not occurred it would have 
been perfectly impossible to have introduced a tradition 
of universal belief concerning it. If this event is un- 
true, then the Holy Bible and the concurrent testimony 
of all nations are false, for they all agree in stating the 
fact that it did take place at the time referred to by our 
fathers, or was the world without any knowledge of this 
overwhelming calamity for seven hundred and fifty-nine 
years after the flood, until Moses wrote an account of 
it on Mount Sinai? The ark, so olten referred to em- 
blematically representing this scene, and the events as 
they transpired would have come down to us ; if Moses 
had never written a word about them. Because the 
world believes in the deluge, not on account of its being 
recorded in the Holy Bible, for millions of our race 
knew nothing of this sacred history, and have no knowl- 
edge of the true God, yet the evidences everywhere are 
clear and conclusive that the earth was once covered 
with water, tradition, Masonry and the sacred history 
state the cause, and the effects are indisputable. If this 
is untrue, why are those fossils and shells found upon the 
tops of the highest mountains, and a thousand other 
evidences equally clear and conclusive. Masonry and 
the Holy Bible merely state the facts of the deluge, and 
leave it for others to solve this tremendous miracle that 
destroyed the old and re-peopled the new world. Did 
the Almighty communicate to Noah, orally — for it will 
be remembered there was no written law containing the 
ten commandments in the world at that time — did he 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 231 

instruct him in the principles of true religion ? And the 
fraternity to-day, in all its essential elements have no 
other ; for we have ever believed that Noah was divine- 
ly' inspired, and that he never taught anything to his 
sons or to posterity that was spurious or false ; tradition, 
then, true to her trust, has exemplified these overwhelm- 
ing truths corroborated by Moses, the sacred historian 
of these events. Did Noah worship God in spirit and 
in truth? We are endeavoring by the force of symbols 
and emblems to imitate his examples ; the religion of 
Masons and the Holy Bible, then, are exactly the same. 

A train,-, Masonry and religion are built upon the same 
foundation, and are identified, but not one, because our 
forefathers had a perfect knowledge of the world's his- 
tory ; and the events, as they transpired, they were con- 
nected with them individually themselves, and were 
eye-witnesses of the tremendous scenes as they passed 
in review before them. Moses, says Dr. Oliver, was a 
Mason, and the Apostle informs us was learned in all 
the wisdom of the Egyptians. If this be true, theu Ma- 
sonry was one of them, because Masonic explorers, with- 
in a lew years, have demonstrated without the shadow 
of a doubt that the fraternity existed in some organized 
form in Egypt more than two thousand years before 
Solomon's day. Moses and the Prophets related what 
they were directed to by the Almighty, and nothing 
more, and it was impossible that they could have been 
deceived, or misunderstood their instructions ; because, 
they were the principal agents in carrying forward and 
completing the designs of the Almighty, and they could 
not have practiced deception even it they had intended to 
do so. The journeyings of the Israelites, the passage of 
the Red Sea, the giving of the law upon Mount Siniah, 
and many other wonderful events, these holy men were 
intimately connected with, and were certainly the best 
judges of what they saw and heard. 

It the religion of Masonry is not divinely inspired, 
then the concurrent testimony of the entire world is un- 
true ; because they have all testified that there is one 



232 MASONRY, PAST, 

supreme and eternal God, though called by different 
names, and he has commanded intelligent beings to 
worship him according to the best light they have. 
Traditions, modern travelers, and the historians of all 
ages, confirm these remarks ; and the Holy Bible has 
taught us the rule — and we have no other guide to our 
faith and practice — and, without the shadow of a doubt, 
establishes the divine origin, traditions and religion of 
Masonry, because we could not be sustained by our tra- 
ditions and the Holy Bible, if they are untrue. 

It will not do to say primitive Masonry was pervert- 
ed, and, consequently, not entitled to belief as of a di- 
vine origin. This would be proving too much, and, 
therefore, prove nothing ; because, in no age in the 
world's history has this universally been the case, for " I 
have," says the Almighty, " reserved to myself seven 
thousand that have never bowed the knee to Baal." 
But, admit it, it only proves the existence of the true re- 
ligion of Masonry, as certainly as a counterfeit does the 
genuineness of the true bank ; besides, does not this ob- 
jection fall with equal power upon the Church ? Who 
does not know that the right ways of the Lord have been 
perverted ; that sects and isms have been multiplied, 
almost without number? — a libel upon the religion of 
the Bible and an insult to God, for he is the author of 
all true religion ; and everything else must be spurious 
or false. But it would be impossible to prove, without 
recognizing a first cause, of infinite wisdom of superior 
and superintending power. Can any new religion, or 
tradition of any great event, be introduced into our 
world, that gains the consent of the entire race, if they 
are untrue, or even of a doubtful character ? This 
would be impossible ; let the trial be made. Columbus 
discovered this continent in fourteen hundred and 
ninety-two. Is any one prepared to say that no such 
man ever lived ? and can there be any new theory or 
tradition invented to prove this assertion true, that shall 
tell upon the belief of the world ? or was this continent 
never discovered at all, and all that is said about this 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 233 

wonderful man a sheer fabrication ? But it will be said 
this is a matter of history — therefore, must be true. 
Admit it ; but the facts existed before any record could 
be made of them, for this was not done until several 
years afterwards. Thus it is with the religion of Ma- 
sonry. We know her laws are eternal ; they never had 
a beginning, and they never can end any more than the 
Deity himself. Prove, for instance, that love is not a 
Divine attribute ; then we shall establish the fact that 
the religion of Masonry is false ; because this is the 
foundation, top-stone — Alpha and Omega — of the order. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

Festivals of the Jews a proof of the religion of Masonry — Journey- 
irigs of the Israelites. 

FESTIVALS OF THE JEWS. 

Again, the different festivals of the Jews, the building 
of the temple, the glory of the Lord that filled the house, 
or any other great event, could no more have been in- 
troduced without the actual existence of these facts, than 
the declaration of our independence could be celebrated 
if no such event had ever happened. Neither is it pos- 
sible for the world to make the fraternity believe that 
our system of religion, which includes love to God, our 
neighbor and ourselves, ever was the invention of man, 
or had any other origin except in God himself. 

Again, our religion, sustained by traditions and the 
Holy Bible, is true, because it carries us back by a very 
luminous path to the creation of the world. There we 
see the dealings of the Almighty with his frail, erring 
creatures as clear as the sun-light from heaven. All at- 
tempts to refute the religion of Masonry, in every age, 
have most signally failed, because it is based upon the 
truths of the Almighty and cannot be overthrown. 

Again, the religion of Masonry has God for its author, 



234 MASOKRT, PAST, 

because some of the most wonderful events that have 
ever transpired in the annals of our race have been com- 
mitted to her care. Were not the first and second tem- 
ples built by Masons, and did they not give the book of 
the law to the world, as before remarked ? Besides, in 
her system is included a series of prophecies from the 
creation, kept steadily alive through revolving ages for 
more than four thousand years. Moses, the historian of 
the world, says : The seed of the woman shall bruise 
the serpent's head. This light glimmered through all 
the dark ages, until it burst in bright effulgence upon 
the consecrated head of the Son of God in Bethlehem. 
Do any doubt this? Why, then, is our attention so 
often directed to the star in the east, as the hope of the 
world ? Masonry believes these holy men of God were 
true prophets, and with an eye undimmed they penetrated 
far down into the future, and that no being but God, 
who sees the end from the beginning, can predict events 
thousands of years in the distance, especially when it 
was impossible for him to have any motive to deceive, 
or the men whom he inspired for this purpose. And 
many of these prophecies have been fulfilled, almost to 
the very letter, not only as referring to individuals, but 
empires and nations have been overthrown and gone 
down forever, exactly in accordance with these predic- 
tions. .Ninevah, Babylon, Palmyra, and many others, 
are striking proofs of this remark. The unparalleled 
destruction of the city of Jernsalem, the overthrow of 
the temple, the captivity of the Jews, their final restora- 
tion, were all minutely described by the pen of inspira- 
tion thousands of years before the events transpired, but 
proved awful realities in a subsequent age. Many of 
these predictions have been fulfilled with the most as- 
tonishing exactness, aud contrary to all human proba- 
bility. The prophecies relating to the Messiah are of 
equal force and sublimity, and cannot be accounted for 
on any other principle than that Infinite "Wisdom direct- 
ed what was to be said, and Almighty Power was 
pledged that not one jot or tittle should pass irom the 



PRESENT AKD FUTURE. 235 

law or prophets until all was fulfilled. A system so 
grand and glorious, embodying these overwhelming 
truths, must be of God, no matter by what name it is 
called. It the Holy Bible, which principally records 
these astounding events, is divinely inspired. Masonry 
is, because she receives it as her great light, from the 
beginning to the end of her history. 

Again, the religion of Masonry is proved to be of 
divine origin, because no true system of religion has 
ever been introduced in our world without the aid of 
miracles. The commission of Moses out of the burning 
bush on Horeb, the journeyings of the Israelites, guided 
by a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, which 
was seen by nearly two millions of people for forty 
years, the passage of the Red Sea, the giving the law 
on Sinai when the mountain was all on fire, the Taber- 
nacle, the entrance into the land of Canaan, the visible 
presence of the Shekinah on Mount Moriah, the un- 
clouded glory of God that filled the house c the advent of 
the Son of God, and those of the New Testament are 
mostly of the same character ; and a thousand others 
are of equal importance. And has Masonry nothing to 
do with these ? Prove them false, then the light of Ma- 
sonry is extinguished, and the entire fabric of the church 
is overthrown. Can man invent a miracle to impose 
upon the credulity of the world, can he suspend the laws 
of nature to carry on this deception ? if he cannot, then 
it is utterly impossible for him to invent a system that 
includes them. Let it be remembered that God never 
introduced a miracle to establish a false system of reli- 
gion yet, and he never will until the holiness of his na- 
ture shall change. , 

Again, the contrast between the religion of Masonry 
and the false system is striking in the extreme, and 
proves conclusively, that it is of God. The mission of 
Mahomet around the sky in a chaise drawn by moon- 
light, was wholly unsupported by evidence, and never 
was attributed to him even by his deluded followers, 
until long after his death. But those to which Masonry 



236 MASOKRY, £AST, 

refers were performed by the persons themselves, at the 
time, and in the presence of thousands of living wit- 
nesses. Moses and the Prophets, Christ and the Apos- 
tles, is sufficient to establish the fact that the religion of 
Masonry rests upon the Bible, and is pre-eminently dis- 
tinguished from all other false theories by its incontesti- 
ble evidences of its being of a divine origin. Mahomet 
and many other false religions were propagated by the 
sword, wealth, civil influence and political power have 
lent their combined energies to aid them, and with those 
advantages, Mahomet, during the first seven years could 
not reckon one hundred followers ; for the same period 
from the commencement of the temple there were more 
than one hundred and fifty thousand Masons engaged. 
Besides, false religions are local in their nature, idola- 
trous in form, and bounded by the darkened intellects of 
heathen nations. But Masonry takes a wider range,she 
has traveled to the four quarters of the globe, and her 
principles are everywhere recognized to be from God, 
which would be impossible if her system was false, or 
even of a doubtful character. While other systems have 
been- pushed on to conquests by physical force, the great 
secret of our success is moral suasion. My kingdom, 
6ays the Saviour, is not of this world, else would my 
servants fight. 

Again, the religion of Masonry has a knowledge of 
the human heart, though she never undertakes to ex- 
plain the mysteries of iniquity, but states the fact, and 
points out the remedy. The combined wisdom of the 
world has never disclosed the secret springs of human 
action, purified the fountain of moral corruption, or 
counteracted the evils of our race. This has never been 
achieved by human ingenuity, yet Masonry does this, 
therefore it must be of God. If this is untrue, then why 
is our attention so often directed to the all-seeing eye, 
that beholds the inmost recesses of the human heart, 
and will reward us according to our works? It is a per- 
fect mirror, exhibiting the depraved passions of the hu- 
man bouI, and states distinctly that virtue and vice will 



PEESBKT AKD Ft/TtTKE. 237 

be rewarded according to their merits. This is the foun- 
dation of all law, human or divine, and was first pro- 
claimed by the Almighty himself, and it is the only one 
to govern the world. If this is untrue, then there never 
has been any religion on earth, and never can be. But 
the Almighty has everywhere proclaimed its truth in 
the volume of nature and the book of Revelation both. 

Again, no other syRtem in our world, taking the Holy 
Bible for our guide, appeals with such moral power to 
the finer sensibilities of our nature, and fixes love to 
God, in the soul, as the strongest incentive to human ac- 
tion ; and as far as we practice upon this holy principle 
we imitate the Divine Being, for God is love. This is 
the most godlike theme known to exist in our world. 

Again, Masonry discloses to our view many things 
which, human wisdom, with all its penetration, could 
never discover. The attributes and the perfections of 
the Deity are unfolded and explained by symbolical 
language with a force, clearness, majesty and power no- 
where else to be found; while every human invention 
falls immeasurably below the true character of God. 
But Masonry invariably represents the dignity, gran- 
deur and glory of the Divine Being, as the only Sove- 
reign of the TJniverse ; that he possesses a perfect plan 
of his own operations, immutable in all his ways, infi- 
nitely removed from all disappointments or surprise. 
God's plan for diffusing happiness throughout the uni- 
verse was unknown until he communicated it to his 
creatures, and taught them to imitate him by laws the 
most simple and easily understood ; and is not this one 
of the fundamental elements of our faith ? 

Again, the unity of God shines forth from every de- 
gree pertaining to the order, with a clear and unclouded 
brightness which never could be known by the inhabit" 
ants of our world without immediate inspiration. This 
we believe and teach, for to us there is but one God— - 
the maker and governor of the universe. 

Again, another argument in proof of the religion of 
Masonry is, we have a knowledge of causes, by the ef- 



238 . MASOtfTtY, PAST, 

fects they produce. No power this side of heaven can 
change an idolater to the service of the true and living 
God ; can curb the turbulent passions of our nature, 
still the tempests of the soul, stay the uplifted toma- 
hawk of the savage, make the enemy a friend, receive 
him into the warm embrace of a brother's love. This, 
ancient Craft Masonry has done a thousand times over, 
and will continue to do to the end of the world. And 
man is no more the author of this high and holy princi- 
ple than he is of the image of G<>d in the soul. 

Another argument in favor of the religion of Masonry 
is, holy men who lived at the time, intimately connected 
with the events, state distinctly that they were directed 
by the Almighty to relate what they saw and heard. If 
this is not true, then for thousands of years they prac- 
ticed a deception, and some of the most wonderful 
events that have ever transpired in our world were pre- 
dicted in falsehood, carried forward, sustained, and final- 
ly completed by a system of fraud ; and the world, for 
instance, was drowned in accordance with a false pre- 
diction ; and has not Masonry and the Church some- 
thing to do with this event? There are but two avenues 
of knowledge — what we know ourselves, or what others 
have told us. 

Again, if the religion of Masonry does not embody 
the same elements of faith, relate the same mysterious 
events, as the Holy Bible, then the whole system of 
both is false; because they depend exactly upon the 
same class of testimony to sustain them. ]f these evi- 
dences, which have been examined by the great Law- 
Giver himself, have uttered a falsehood, then there is no 
such thing as truth in our world. But the reverse of all 
this is true, and shows conclusively that the great lead- 
ing elements of Masonry, or religion, were divinely in- 
spired, as tradition, history and revelation have stated ; 
and these overwhelming truths can only be accounted 
for from the superintending care of that omniscient eye 
that not a sparrow falls without its notice. 

Again, Masonry is not building up a system of reli- 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 239 

gion for herself, her neighbors, or even for the benefit of 
our race, merely, but has laid her foundation deep for 
eternity. If there is no hereafter, then the soul does not 
survive the wreck of the body. But with the cold, 
dreamless, and eternal sleep of the Atheist, that knows 
no waking, Masonry has nothing to do. If this is true, 
then God has given to the immortal spirit desires as 
boundless as the universe, enstamped his own image 
upon it, interwoven into the very laws of our being, — 
the longings after immortality, — only to disappoint its 
hopes and prostrate its noble powers in the dust. This 
view would be inconsistent with infinite wisdom — to de- 
vise, and set at naught and overthrow all the rules of 
evidence in our world. Next, Masonry and the Church 
have a vast interest at stake in these sublime and mo- 
mentous truths. If the religion of Masonry is not true, 
why did the Almighty enkindle his own light in the 
soul, to glimmer only for a short space, and then go out 
in an eternal night ? Is all this a delusive phantom, 
only calculated to mislead and deceive ? And is there 
nothing but utter darkness before us, where we shall 
grope on forever without finding our way out? The fact 
is, Masonry is intimately connected with the mysteries 
of the past, sheds a hallowed light upon the present, and 
salves the doubts and uncertainties of the future. A 
system that does this is the nearest to perfection, and 
most resembles God, no matter how secret its forms or 
ceremonies to effect this object. Has religion any other 
view than to teach us the great object of our being, 
here, und something of the unknown future hereafter? 
If it has not, then Masonry and religion are the same. 
The only difference is, our symbols and emblems im- 
press this momentous truth upon the mind with greater 
moral power than is known to exist anywhere else in 
the world ; and the intelligent Mason knows his religion 
is from Heaven, and nothing but an omniscient God, 
with whom, the past, present and future are alike, could 
introduce a system so grand, glorious^ and so much like 



240 MASONRY, PAST, 

himself, even admitting that the present organized order 
reaches no farther back than Solomon's day. 



CHAPTER XX. 

Appeals of Masonry— Resurrection of Masonry believed in. 

Again, Masonry appeals to the finer sensibilities of 
our nature, struggles to counteract the evils of our race. 
It comes to us clothed with the Omnipotent energies of 
the Almighty God, which no human power can with- 
stand, or set aside its melting and overpowering sublim- 
ity, unequaled by any other institution in the world. 
Her work is with the heart and fixes our hopes firmly 
upon heaven, as a reward of virtuous actions. A socie- 
ty that has kept steadily that object in view, never fal- 
ters or dissembles, or holds out any unreal inducements 
for her votaries to embark in her cause, but has built up 
her theory from the instructions we have received from 
our forefathers — plain, simple, grand, and glowing, 
adapted to all ages, nations, and conditions of men, 
without a jarring note or single discord to mar our work 
to society that look upon the world as its field of action, 
and takes this vast and illimitable range of human af- 
fairs, never interfering with the rights or religious privi- 
leges of others, but always keeping eternity in view, 
must be from God, because every good gift, and every 
perfect gift, cometh down from the Father of lights, 
from whom there is no variableness nor the least shadow 
of turning. — James 1st, 17. 

Rev. Salem Town, Chaplain of the Royal Arch Chap- 
ter, of the State of New York, in the Masonic Review, 
edited by Albert G. Mackey, M. D, vol. 2, p. 347, says, 
It is no secret that Masonry is of Divine origin, that the 
system embraces and inculcates evangelical truth ; that 
there is no duty enjoined^ or virtue required in the vol- 
ume of inspiration but what is found in it and taught by 
speculative Freemasonry. Again, it is no secret that 



PRESENT AHB FUTURE. 241 

the appropriate name of God has been preserved in 
every country, in the Masonic institution, wherever the 
society has existed, while the rest of the world was lit- 
erally sunk in heathenism. The great mass of intelligent 
Masons, says Br. Mackey, (same page,) are fast approach- 
ing Dr. Town's conclusion. The great increase of sound, 
well written works upon the history, philosophy and 
jurisprudence of the institution, within the last five 
years, is a part of the evidence of this quite indisputa- 
ble fact. Is not religion one of the evangelical truths 
referred to by brothers Town and Mackey ; and does not 
the volume of inspiration and Masonry both, inculcate it? 
If this is true— and the evidence to us is as clear as the 
sunlight from heaven, why then should there be so much 
pains taken to spread out before the world that Masonry 
is nothing but a system of pure morality, veiled in alle- 
gory and illustrated by symbols. Is this the proud emi- 
nence our forefathers designed we should occupy ? Did 
the Almighty enstamp this simple principle only upon 
their hearts, and teach them carefully to guard it from 
innovation, and hand this glorious theme down through 
all coming time, as securing man's hopes here and his 
final destiny hereafter ? But admit it, even in the com- 
mon acceptation of the term, what is the difference be- 
tween pure morality and religion ? Separate them, and 
they both fall. The God of nature has enstamped upon 
the souls of all intelligent beings a knowledge of right 
and wrong ; and as far as we practice the former and 
avoid the latter, is not this religion ? The whole theory 
of man's redemption rests upon it, and we need no spe- 
cial revelation to teach us this ; whether we believe it 
or not, the principle is the same — the law is eternal and 
can never vary. And what Masonry claims is : She is 
endeavoring to carry out this high and holy principle 
within us. But some of the fraternity are so afraid of 
the jarring and conflicting elements of sectarianism, that 
they say that Masonry is not religion at all, and that 
not an item of it is found in our ritual or in our belief. 
16 



•242 MASONRY, PAST, 

This position is calculated to mislead the inquirer after 
truth, set at naught the religion of the Bible, extinguish 
the light of revelation that blazes up from our sacred 
altars, and overthrow the government of the world ; be- 
cause the foundation of religion is equal justice to all : 
the willing, and the obedient shall eat the good of the 
land. Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy- 
laden, and I will give you rest. This is a characteristic 
feature of Masonry, and every where taught in our 
lodges. And can there be any true religion without it ? 
Do unto others as you would wish them to do to you, 
was pronounced by the Saviour to be the summit and 
pertection of all laws, human and divine. We have no 
other ; then Masonry and religion are the same. We 
speak of principle, not of practice, of some of our mem- 
bers. 

MASONRY AND SOCIAL RELATIONS. 

Brother Mackey's Quarterly Review, Vol. 2, No. 1, p. 
97, says, the religion ot Masonry never intermeddling 
with points of doctrine, in politics or religion, labors to 
improve the social order by enlightening men's minds, 
by warming men's hearts with love of the good, by in- 
spiring them with the great principle of human frater- 
nity, by requiring of its disciples that their language 
and actions should conform to that principle, that they 
shall enlighten one another, triumph over their passions, 
abhor vice, and pity the vicious man as one afflicted 
with a deplorable malady. It is the universal, eternal, 
immutable religion, such as God planted in the heart of 
universal humanity. Its ministers are all Masons, who 
comprehend it and are devoted to it. Its offerings to 
God are good works, the sacrifice of the base and dis- 
orderly passions, and her perpetual efforts to attain to 
all the moral perfection of which man is capable. The 
above sentiment is religion in its most emphatic sense, 
calling into exercise the liveliest emotions of the soul, 
fixing our hopes firmly upon God, and is amply sustain- 
ed by testimony like the following : He, (the Saviour,) 



PRESENT AND FUTURE. 243 

is the true light that lighteth every man that cometh 
into the world. Faith without works is dead. Work 
out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it 
is God that worketh in you, both to will and to do of 
His own good pleasure. Behold I stand at the door and 
knock, look unto me all ye ends ol the earth, and be ye 
saved, for I am God, besides me there is no other. If 
these evidences and a thousand of others equally clear 
and explicit, which would be admitted in any court on 
earth, or in heaven, do not prove the religion of Mason- 
ry to be of a Divine origin, then there is no testimony 
in the world that can prove anything. And this is the 
reason we so often refer to the Holy Bible in support of 
our principles. Because all of her laws are just, holy 
and good, introduced for the benefit of our race, and no 
theory can travel beyond the attainments of all the 
moral perfections of which man is capable. And this 
lesson has been repeated a thousand times over in our 
lodges, and will be through all coming time the Alpha 
and Omega of the order. Anything less than this proud 
eminence we are destined to occupy, will sink us in the 
estimation of the world to the level, and even below 
the petty and conflicting isms of the day, shutting out 
the hopes of the future and the glories of heaven from 
our view. And we know of nothing that would detract 
so much from the influence and moral power of the 
order than to adopt any other course than a firm beb'ef 
in the religion of the God of our fathers, which always 
tends to develope the loftiest powers of the soul and pre- 
pare it for the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. And what 
in Masonry is more sublime and impressive than the 
star in the east? Is it not emphatically fulfilling nearly 
all the prophecies, and all the Masonry since the world 
began ? Can we feel its power in the soul without emo- 
tions of the profound est awe and veneration. Among 
all Christian nations does not this symbol hold a con- 
spicuous place, particularly in the higher degrees per- 
taining to the order ? It was alluded to in Eden, kept 
steadily alive amid the dark ages of heathenism, that 



244 3TAS0NKY, PAST, 

rolled its tumultous waves over the world, by the most 
perfect system of symbolical language until it sheds its 
hallowed beams upon the consecrated head of the Son 
of God — Bonaparte, while on his way to Egypt, halted 
his army in Jerusalem, visited Bethlehem and saw the 
place where the Son of God lay. It is said by good au- 
thority that he and all his generals were Masons. 

Is it not true the Christian Mason believes the veil of 
the temple is rent in twain and the doctrine of the res- 
urrection so clearly illucidated by the apostles in the 
15th 1st Cor., most strictly adhered to by the fraternity 
throughout the world, nor is this of a doubtful char- 
acter, it is no idle fancy of ours to amuse the ignor- 
ant or to excite the attention of the thoughtless, but 
are sober realities ; and upon this foundation we rise or 
fall. It is nothing less than a firm belief in the exist- 
ence of miracles and prophecies pointing steadily 
through a long roll of ages, to one all-absorbing event — 
the redemption of a lost world by the Son of God. If 
this element of our faith be stricken from our lodges, 
nearly all the degrees pertaining to the order, as far as 
we know, would be unmeaning. But those sublime 
mysteries referring to the fulfillment of prophecies, the 
Star in the East, and so distinctly understood by us, are 
always solemn, religious, impressive, and deeply inter- 
esting ; and we venture to affirm that no man has ever 
taken these degrees without feeling Masonry is religion 
in its purest and most exalted character, untrammeled 
by sectarianism, which the inventions of men have, in 
different ages, for religious rule or political power, 
thrown around them. (See larger work by the author.) 
And how true it is, that among all civilized nations, in 
every language, tongue and kindred under the whole 
heaven, the great and mighty men of the earth are re- 
joicing in the strong light of Masonry, which rests upon 
the Holy Bible, combining their wealth and their ener- 
gies to spread abroad its high and holy principles, wield- 
ing a moral power unsurpassed and unknown by any 
other society, — triumphing over prejudice, superstitutioo 






PRESENT AND FUTURE. 245 

and the darkened intellects of the earth who have been 
taught by the most glittering symbols to worship the God 
of their fathers, in spirit and in truth. And there never 
was a time since Solomon's day that Masonry was better 
understood, more duly appreciated, or gained a more 
universal belief among all nations, than at present. Is 
all this influence, power, success and triumph of the 
principles of our holy religion the wild freaks of human 
invention, or is it not from God ? Judge ye. 

Materials, in some instances, are coming in too fast ; 
but time, patience and the skill of the Supreme Archi- 
tect will work a remedy. This does not detract from 
the truth that Masonry is of a Divine origin, but con- 
firms it ; because if there was nothing genuine or holy 
in our principles, there would be no counterfeits. What 
church in our world is entirely sinless ? Masonry, in 
our view, taking the Holy Bible for our guide, is the 
only foundation whereon all can build without schism, 
sect, or confusion of tongues ; the only religion that can 
unite the conflicting elements of our being into one 
grand, social, moral and religious order, where we can 
worship the God of our fathers without a jarring note, 
or a dissenting voice. Upon this primitive rock the 
founders of this god-like institution, with an eye pene- 
trating far into the future, built up Masonry, simple, 
grand, and glorious. The tide of ages, in relentless 
fury, have swept by it, and dashed unceasingly its wild 
and tumultuous waves aronnd it ; yet she looks calmly 
out upon the storm, and smiles serenely at the angry el- 
ements that have spent their wildest commotions around 
her. Brethren, there is something god-like in this un- 
paralleled endurance, and can be accounted for in no 
other way than that the same All-Seeing Eye which 
watched over the order in the infancy of the world will, 
with a jealous care, see to it that the religion he taught 
our forefathers, and the work in every department of the 
Temple, is faithfully performed. 

From our enemies we have nothing to fear. All ef- 
forts of kingly wrath— -which at times have been tre° 



246 MASONRY, PAST, 

mendous — to subvert the order and overthrow this fair 
fabric, have most signally failed ; and every attack 
against Masonry and her holy religion has produced an 
effect entirely different from what they anticipaled. 
The most vindictive assaults have only tended to 
strengthen our hearts and stimulate our energies to 
greater exertions to go forward in our work. And those 
tyrants who have waged a relentless war against morals 
and true religion, held sacred by the fraternity, would 
subvert the good order of community, set aside the laws 
of God, overthrow the government of the world, and de- 
throne the Deity himself, if they had the power. But 
Masonry has a Divine mission to fill, is stamped with 
the seal of immortality, and will live forever. Without 
going back to grope in the profound darkness that set- 
tled upon the earth when the Roman empire was totter- 
ing to its fall, we may safely aver that, amid the barbar- 
ism that rolled its tumultuous waves over Europe for 
many years after the tenth century, Masonry stood firm- 
ly up, and battled with those weltering waves like a 
great light firmly set upon a rock in the midst of a 
stormy ocean. From that period and downward Ma- 
sonic history sheds a clear and brilliant light ; her mis- 
sion on earth has been that of a great teacher of knowl- 
edge, morality and religion ; her tenets shine more and 
more brightly as revolving years roll on ; herprimciples 
glitter with a calm radiance, like a multitude of stars 
keeping watch at midnight in the broad line fields 
of heaven. Such has ever been the religion of Masonry, 
and such it will forever be. No matter how high the 
station among men, our principles can reach him and 
elevate him still higher in the scale of being ; no mat- 
ter how low, if worthy, they can raise him. 

MASONRY IS OF A DIVINE ORIGIN, 

Because the temple of Solomon, in its design and exe- 
cution was unequalled in sublimity and moral grandeur 
by anything that art, or the ingenuity of man ever ac- 
complished. Did not the Supreme Architect of the 



present and future. 247 

Universe direct Solomon how to proceed, the materials 
of gold, silver and other precious metals to be used ; the 
worship, adoration and praise that would be acceptable 
in his sight, when he should come down in glory to fill 
the house. This splendid edifice that excited the ad- 
miration of the world was purely Masonic, built by Ma- 
sons under the immediate supervision of the Supreme 
Architect. It was the first temple in our world erected 
to God, and dedicated to his holy name, as a dwelling 
place for the Almighty, where his name should be re- 
corded. It was not the dazzling splendor^ the costliness 
or the exquisite workmanship of the materials, nor even 
the temple itself, though it is said there were used forty- 
six thousand tons of gold and silver, estimated at thirty- 
five billions, five hundred millions. The Holy Bible 
says it was overlaid within and without with pure gold. 
But it was the visible presence of the Shekinah, the 
glory of the eternal one that filled the house, the wor- 
ship and anthems of praise, that rolled in sweet cadence 
along those vaulted arches to the ever-living God. 

The materials, the gold and silver, even the temple 
itself, and some portions of worship were public and 
open to the inspection of the whole Jewish nation. 

And when it was dedicated.fo the service of the ever- 
living God, it was in the presence of the largest assem- 
bly of Masons ever convened in our world ; more than 
one hundred and fifty thousand were present and wit 
nessed this august and overwhelming scene. But its in- 
ternal arrangement, the forms, ceremonies and symbols 
used connecting the mysteries of the past, the present 
and the unknown future, for the benefit of the craft 
while at work, and means of recognition while traveling 
abroad, were entirely secret, held too sacred by our an- 
cient brethren, to be exposed to the gaze of a thoughtless 
and ignorant public. The sublime mysteries communi- 
cated to Solomon by the Almighty himself, into which 
the prying eyes of the world have never been enabled 
to penetrate, taught them those deeply interesting truths 
which never could be forgotton or effaced irom their 



248 MASONRY, PAST, 

memories. Did not the Almighty know that Solomon 
was a Free and Accepted Mason, that he belonged to a 
secret society, stood, and forever will stand at the head 
of the order through all coming time, and did he not see 
to it that nothing should be introduced into the temple 
but pure worship, tor the benefit of those who were 
faithful and true, and the good of our race. If this was 
not of Divine appointment, why those visible manifes- 
tations of his presence? Why that overwhelming glory 
that filled the house, those songs of praise which are al- 
ways an acceptable service to the Deity ? To disbelieve 
this would be to discredit the concurrent testimony of 
all ages, and set aside the Holy Bible, in which this 
scene is most graphically described by the pen of in- 
spiration. And is not this testimony as irresistable as 
the laws of light, that Masonry and religion in Solomon's 
day were the same ? and do not we not ^worship the God 
of our fathers, using the identical forms and ceremonies 
as far as the Jewish and Christian dispensations can be 
united. Is not the meaning of those emblems and sym- 
bols as familiar to us to represent great events in the 
world's history as it was to our forefathers, and in many 
instances she employs the very same words used by 
Solomon himself; and so true has tradition been that 
we dare not deviate from the ancient usages and customs 
of the order in transmitting these sublime mysteries 
throughout all coming time. Let it be remembered we 
are the regular descendants from the workmen in the 
temple, and we are taught by the use of the same mys- 
terious language, known only to ourselves to worship 
the God of our fathers, in spirit and in truth. If Ma- 
sonry is a religious institution, as Bro. Mackey says : 
Why do they not administer the ordinances? Because 
they are not admitted as a general rule of action by the 
nations of the earth. Besides, no two churches of the 
different denominations are agreed as to the mode, sub- 
ject, or the object. Some take sides with the Apostle in 
writing to the Collosians, 2d Chap. 20 21, he says, 
wherefore, if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments 



PKESEtfT AND FUTITKE. 249 

of the world, why as though living in the world are ye 
subject to ordinances — touch not, taste not, handle not, 
which all are to perish with the using — after the com- 
mandments and doctrines of men. We have many 
clergy of the highest order ot intellect, and a great num- 
ber of the different denominations are members of the 
fraternity; but their different opinions on many passa- 
ges of the Holy Bible are never referred to. Were we 
to admit the abstract principles of any one particu- 
lar sect into our councils, disorder, anarchy and confu- 
sion would be the result, consequently destroy the object 
we have in view, which is Peace on earth, good will to 
men. 

Do Masons really believe the Bible to be the word of 
God? It is most too late in the day to ask such a 
question. We unhesitatingly answer in the affirmative. 
They do, and we are the only institution in the world 
who will not receive the opinions of men, note or com- 
ment, upon its holy pages ; and those sayings the bigot 
or the enthusiast seizes hold of, as favoring his particu- 
lar creed, we leave to the commentator, whose element 
often is to dabble in muddy water, making darkness 
darker, and confusion more confused. Deprived of this 
great light, we should have no permanent joys for the 
present, no hopes for the future ; the work in our lodges 
dark and dreary, our labors a scene of confusion, and 
the great object of our being unknown. But the Holy 
Bible certainly does fix our hopes firmly upon its gra- 
cious promises, both in this life and in that which 
is to come. It is distinctly understood by us that what 
we learn here, and the light of God's countenance we 
receive, will increase in bright effulgence through the 
boundless realms of eternity. 

Again, Nothing within the wide range of human 
thought is more sublime and God like than the immor- 
tality of the soul. It is enstamped by the hand of the 
Almighty upon the very laws of our being. No tradi- 
tion, history or revelation has ever originated this high 
and holy principle. It is the divinity that lives within 



250 MASONRY, PAST, 

us. This is the essential element of our holy religion, 
held sacred by the fraternity in all ages, and the gener- 
ations of men that have come and gone before us. With 
that cold, dreamless sleep of the atheist that knows no 
waking, we have nothing to do. It forms no part of our 
faith. No institution in the world believes in the doc- 
trines of the resurrection more firmly than we do. See 
1 Corinthians, 15. If the Holy Bible and nearly all our 
symbols teach this doctrine, and we feel its power thril- 
ling through every fiber of the soul in all the degrees 
pertaining to the order, is not this belief then from God ? 
Let it be remembered that without immortality and 
eternal life the flame of divine love enkindled upon onr 
hearts is extinguished, and the hope of the world has 
perished. If this be true, then the vast and unknown 
future is a blank, Masonry a farce, and religion a false- 
hood. Again, we ask, is th : s part of our holy religion 
from heaven or from men ? It is the firm basis upon 
which the church and the fraternity rest. Remove it, 
and we perish. We have no other religion than that 
which the Almighty has taught us, to employ our rea- 
soning powers to the best advantage. Have strong faith, 
a firm hope in a glorious immortality, and all will be 
well when our labor in this earthly lodge is closed. 

But are we not taught in the most emphatic manner, 
a lesson by an emblem, that never can be effaced from 
our memory? That justice will soon overtake us, and 
although our thoughts, words and actions may be hidden 
from the eyes of man, yet that All-seeing eye, whom the 
sun, moon, and stars obey, and under whose watchful 
care even comets perform their stupendous revolutions, 
beholds the inmost recesses of the human heart, and 
will reward us according to our works. 

Was the Grand Lodge of the State of New York, in 
her constitution given to the world, title 3, sec. 1, in 
error, when it is expressly declared that a belief in the 
existence of the Supreme Being, the Grand Architect 
of the universe, who will punish vice and reward virtue, 
is an indispensible prerequisite to admission to Mason- 






PRESENT AND FUTURE. 251 

ry. It is the foundation of all just laws, human and 
Diving ; runs through every page of inspiration, and 
stamps this momentous truth upon our hearts, with a 
sublimity and moral grandeur that never can be effaced 
or forgotten. And is not this God's religion, or does the 
church or the world give us a better system ? If it does, 
then the language of the Holy Bible is inadequate to 
convey to the mind what the Almighty intends to do 
with our fallen world. » 

But there are other things of a highly scientific, moral 
and religious character which have come down to us 
from this far distant past, unrecorded on the pages of 
the world's history that we must commit to memory 
and faithfully transmit them to those who may come 
after us, as practical lessons upon morals and religion 
both, because we are the regular descendants ot the 
workmen from the temple. 

If Masonry possesses a single immoral or irreligious 
element in her faith,it would be struck from our records as 
unworthy the coufidence of high-minded men, unworthy 
the attention of the Christian Mason, whose thoughts 
frequently take a higher and holier range than the ordi- 
nary intellects of man, and would never stoop to coun- 
tenance sin, however secret its meetings or mysterious 
its forms, unworthy the notice of the thousands of 
clergymen possessing the highest order of intellect, 
whose souls are imbued with and devoted to the cause 
ot their Divine Master, have enlisted under our banners 
and become votaries of the order, But on entering 
within our consecrated walls to perform their high and 
holy duties at once perceive here is an institution pos- 
sessing the elements of great antiquity, moral and reli- 
gious, in all their sublime and hallowed associations, 
opening a boundless and illimitable field before them, 
affording ample range for all their god-like faculties. 
This of itself would appear sufficient to establish the 
fact that the religion of Masonry is of Divine origin. 

Here the philanthropist can never tire in contempla- 
ting this wonderful and mysterious institution, and her 



252 MASONKY, PAST, 

facilites for doing good, and is led to exclaim, if her 
principles were carried out into practical life, crime 
would be unknown and sin banished from our world. 
Here the statesman, whose giant intellect and elevated 
position controls the destinies of nations, is taught to 
limit his desires in every station, that rising to emi- 
nence by merit, he may live respected and die regretted 
— that there is but one Grand Master, governor of the 
universe, who rules over all. Here he is taught the 
language of signs and symbols, and he becomes more 
intimately acquainted with that Divine and Holy Being 
they represent, and at once understands, that in a good 
working lodge he has the best form of government in the 
world. Here the scholar may gaze in wrapt wonder 
upon the many arts and sciences presented to his view 
and recommended to his attention, that with all hs in- 
tense study and close application, he will find life is too 
short to comprehend but little of what be sees and hears 
in a well-goveined lodge. 

The most devout christian and philanthropist, the 
greatest statesman and scholar, invariably, in all ages, 
have made the best Masons, and this is the reason why 
more men of a high order of intellect, in every depart- 
ment of life, have become votaries of the craft than any 
other institution in the world. Not the mere forms and 
ceremonies — these are necessary in all organized bodies 
— but, there is something grand, majestic, and impres- 
sive, that fixes the attention and enlists all the energies 
of his soul. Here the most humble laborer is taught the 
principles of industry, frugality, economy, science, mor- 
als, and religion, that, if he is worthy, skillful, and per- 
severing, he may be elevated to the most responsible 
station. Brotherly love, relief, truth, temperance, forti- 
tude, prudence, justice, and many other subjects of 
equal importance, are brought to view, and enforced 
upon his mind with great moral power, by emblems 
and symbols, the first language and religion in the 
world ; — but, it will be said we use emblematical or 
highly figurative language ; therefore we have no 



PKESEHT AKD EtTTtJKE. 253 

means of judging whether the religion of Masonry is 
true or false. The same objection might be urged 
against the doctrine of our Saviour, when, in many in- 
stances, he instituted the same form of speech. " All 
these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parable ; 
and without a parable spake he not unto them." Matt. 
13 : 34. But when they were alone he expounded all 
things unto them. The reason is obvious. The great 
mass of the people could not understand the mysteries 
of Heaven without some forcible appeals to their under- 
standing with which they were acquainted. 

Again, one of the essential elements of our holy re- 
ligion is truth, a divine attribute, the foundation of ev- 
ery virtue upon which the entire fabric of the Church 
and the fraternity rests. Spoken by the Almighty to 
our first parents, reiterated in the most awful manner 
on Mount Siniah, where the Ten Commandments were 
given ; and did not obedience to the moral law consti-. 
tute all the religion in the world ? And did man origi- 
nate this law? Ko more than he created the Deity 
himself. 

But the Almighty, on his mission of mercy to our ru- 
ined world, in sending his Son to be a propitiator for 
our sins in our bewildered state, has had compassion on 
the weakness, frailty and imperfections of our race, and 
taught us by his providence and his Holy Word, and 
made us understand distinctly something of the glorious 
plan of redemption, that whoever believeth in Hi m should 
not perish, but have eternal life ; and urges upon our 
consideration, by all that is dear to us in this world, or 
that which is to come, to renounce the error of our ways 
and cleave to the Lord, who is good unto all, and his ten- 
der mercies are over all his works. Like as a father pitieth 
hischildren, so the Lord pitieth those who fear him. 

If the Holy Bible is divinely inspired, Masonry is, be- 
cause they both relate to, and include the same over- 
whelming truths, or is there some other system that is 
not found in the book of nature or the volume of inspi- 
ration. If there is, the world has never been informed 



254 MASONRY, PAST, 

of it, and consequently not entitled to our belief. If the 
religion of the old and new testaments, recognized by 
the Fraternity everywhere, including man's happiness 
here and his destiny hereafter, if these are not the essen- 
tial elements of our being, and do not irresistably estab- 
lish the truth that Masonry is of Divine origin, there is 
no testimony in our world that can prove anything. But 
such sublime and holy principles introduced and enforced 
upon our votaries, are no more the results of human 
wisdom than creation is the effect of human power. 

Again, Masonry comes to us clothed with a sublimity 
and moral grandeur, unequalled by any other institution 
in the world, it appeals to the finer sensibilities of our 
nature, struggles to counteract the evils of our race, ele- 
vate man in the scale of being, and with melting and 
overpowering appeals to the heart, fixes his hopes firmly 
upon heaven. A society that keeps steadily this object 
in view, which never flatters or dissembles, or holds out 
any unreal inducements for her votaries to embark in 
her cause, and is laboring faithfully for the good of our 
race, must be of Divine origin, because every good gift 
cometh down from the father of light, with whom there 
is no variablensss, or the least shadow of turning. 

Again, it is said by the Prophet, and they shall beat 
their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pru- 
ning hooks, nation shall not lift up the sword against 
nation, neither shall they learn war any more. At no 
period in the world's history has this wonderful predic- 
tion been fulfilled. It remains for the great future to 
introduce an event so glorious and triumphant in its re- 
sults as an universal peace. 

Another proof that Masonry is of a divine origin con- 
sists in the fact that our forefathers, everywhere and un- 
der Jill circumstances, have stated distinctly and explic- 
itly that they acted under the immediate inspiration of 
the Almighty. It is not within the wide range of hu- 
man thought to suppose they could have had any motive 
to practice deception, nor is it possible that the over- 
whelming truths that they have given to the world could 



PKESENT AKD FUTUKE. 255 

be the work of human invention. Our traditions, the 
Holy Bible, and the history of all nations confirm, the 
fact ot a primeval chaos, the creation of the world, the 
flood, and many others. Are these all untrue, and has 
the world for nearly six thousand years been laboring 
under a delusion without the possibility of exposing the 
falsehood or detecting the error ? Was Moses an im- 
poster, and did he intend to deceive the world when he 
states positively, in the first chapter of Genesis what did 
take place ? Or has the world never been created at 
all ? This course of reasoning would set aside the law 
and the prophets, overthrow the concurrent testimony of 
all nations, and prove the Holy Bible a falsehood. 

Again, Masonry is of a divine origin, because she 
states positively and distinctly man's innocence and hap- 
piness in Eden, the miseries entailed upon him by his 
disobedience, and the promise of a Messiah. The seed 
of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head. This is 
held sacred by the fraternity in every age, and believed 
in by all nations since the world began in some form. 
Does not the church admit these truths ? Then the re- 
ligion in both are the same ? 

But we are told that Masonry is a system of pure 
morality, veiled in allegory and illustrated by symbols. 
If that is all, what is the difference between morality 
and religion ? Are they not inseparably connected ? 
Separate them and they both fall. Or, can religion ex- 
ist without morality ? Was this what the Prophets and 
holy men in all ages had in view, and which has enlisted 
the mightiest energies the world ever saw, merely to 
establish an abstract principal of morality, that any school 
boy can learn. Are we not taught to fear God and keep 
his Commandments, for this is the whole duty of man? 
And can this be done without religion ? If it cannot, 
then the proof is clear and conclusive that Masonry 
is of a Divine origin. 

Masonry is of Divine origin ; because, love to God, 
our neighbor and ourselves, is the highest incentives to 
human action, and embraces the most essential elements 



256 MASOHKY, PAST, 

of happiness in this world or any other. Stimulated 
by this high and holy principle, we are spreading 
abroad our charities to the four quarters of the globe, 
which never find their way into the public prints. Our 
religion will not allow our left hand to know what our 
right hand doeth. 

Our alms, as far they can be, are always done in secret, 
without partiality or hypocrisy, That we have done 
much to obviate woes and counteract the evils of our 
race. There can be no doubt what we shall yet accom- 
plish will never be known until the great drama of hu- 
man life is wound up. What human thought can con- 
ceive of a religion inore God-like than to exemplify the 
doctrine of our Saviour — peace on earth aud good will 
to man. 

In closing, what is necessary, then, to aid us in our 
work and push on the conquests still in view ? We ask 
no array of steel, no tramp of the war-horse upon the 
battle-field, no legislative enactments, no high judicial 
authority, no strong arm of the law to protect or g'ive us 
a successful triumph. And, whether we are molested 
or not, we shall continue as we have done, like the corals 
of the ocean in heaving up islands and continents, until 
our labor in this earthly lodge is closed. 



